


Kryptonite

by hoeziertozier



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Easter Eggs, Eddie is one sassy motherfucker, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, I'm not sorry, Light Angst, Multi, Roommates, Slow Burn, Superfan!Richie, Superhero!Eddie, all the superhero cliches, attempted fourth wall breaks, bill/audra if you squint, keyword being "attempted", minor bev/ben, minor stan/pat, well not exactly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-03-21 16:24:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13744782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoeziertozier/pseuds/hoeziertozier
Summary: ‘Richie looked down and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “There’s a reason I came to New York.”“Isn’t it because of your job?”“Yeah, but there’s a reason I specifically chose New York. I mean, it’s Wonder Boy’s home.”Eddie choked on air. For the first time in ages, he wanted to use his inhaler. “What?“"Yeah, I’m kinda obsessed with him. He’s, like, my idol.”So, his new roommate was his superhero persona’s fanboy. Yep, that was definitely not going to be a problem.’Or, the self-indulgent Superhero!Eddie and Superfan!Richie AU that literally nobody asked for.





	1. You know I hate that name

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you're as excited for this as I am :)))

The sound of the sirens grew louder by the minute. He could see the red and blue lights flashing in the distance. The cops would be here any second. He could leave the job to them, but where’s the fun in that?

He leapt off the building and onto the van that was definitely breaking the speed limits. If it’s passengers heard the thump of his landing, they didn’t pay it any attention, and the vehicle only got faster. But that didn’t faze him. He crawled to the front and stuck his head in front of the windshield and waved.

“Hey man.”

The driver’s eyes went wide and he swerved. “What the fuck?”

“I’m going to need you to stop,” he said calmly.

The driver tried to look around his head and continued driving. The sirens were getting louder by the minute, and were now coming from more than one direction.

He sighed. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way then.”

He kicked the windshield, which shattered on impact, and jumped into the passenger seat. He grabbed the driver’s head and held it against the steering wheel. The driver tried to free himself, but his grip was too strong. The driver lost all control of the van and crashed into a lamppost.

“I told you to stop,” he said, shaking his head, as the driver groaned. “You should’ve listened to me.”

He heard voices coming from the back of the van. Clearly the accomplices were injured as well. He didn’t worry about them escaping though. The police had arrived, and his work there was done.

He jumped out of the vehicle and sauntered over to wear the cops were handcuffing the criminals.

“Don’t forget the driver,” he said, leaning against a cop car. The officer who was shoving one of the criminals into the back seat rolled his eyes.

“You don’t always have to be involved, you know. It’s not exactly your job.”

“Hey, Officer Hanscom, I’m just trying doing my duty as a Good Samaritan.”

“You’re interfering, and the big guys are getting tired of your shit. They’ll arrest you one day.”

He shook his head. “Nah, let’s be real. You guys wouldn’t survive without me.”

Officer Hanscom snorted. “Whatever you say, Wonder Boy.”

Wonder Boy cringed. “C'mon Benny, you know I hate that name.”

“Well, I can’t really call you by your real name, can I?”

“I guess not. I really wish I hadn’t left it to the public to pick my superhero name. It fucking sucks.”

Ben chuckled. “Your fault. Anyway, I should get these guys back to the station.”

Wonder Boy nodded. “And I should go kick more butt. I’ll see ya later, alligator!”

“In a while, crocodile!”

Wonder Boy smiled. Ben Hanscom was his oldest friend. They grew up in the same town, Derry, Maine. He was the one who’d been there for him through everything. They were inseparable. They’d even moved to New York together. Ben had joined the NYPD, and Wonder Boy was, well, being the vigilante that the NYPD hated but tolerated, since he did most of their job anyway.

_“Hey, Wonder Boy.”_

He groaned. “Not you too, Marsh.”

_“Hey, if my boyfriend’s allowed to call you that, so am I.”_

He rolled his eyes. “You’re in my ear, Bev. You can call me by my actual name.”

_“But, that’s no fun!”_

“Don’t make me throw my earpiece out,  'cause I will.”

The voice on the other end chuckled.  _“Alright, Eddie. Whatever you say.”_

Eddie huffed. Beverly Marsh was his best friend and savior, but sometimes she could be a real pain in the ass. While he was out in the streets catching bad guys, she was doing all the hard work behind the scenes. She was in charge of basically everything he did. She found missions for him, she designed all his weapons and the tech he used to communicate, and even his suit. She was truly a genius, and without her, he would be nothing.

“So, what’ve you got for me?”

_“Well, there’s a currently a mugging going on on 7th street. That’s the most pressing issue at the moment. The others are pretty tame.”_

Eddie broke into a run. “Okay, I’m on it.”

* * *

Eddie groaned and turned off his alarm. He’d spent most of his night prowling the streets as Wonder Boy, and now it was time to be Eddie Kaspbrak, scientist and researcher.

Eddie loved his day job. He worked at Neibolt Industries, a huge pharmaceutical company that worked on improving the lives of people. They were also heavily into biotechnology and prosthetics. Eddie always thought he’d hate working with medicine, but once he graduated NYU with a degree in microbiology and immunology and was offered a job at Neibolt, he changed his mind.

Growing up, Eddie was under heavy medication. He had to take pills for pretty much everything. He even used an aspirator for his asthma, until he turned thirteen and realised all his medicines were actually placebos. Even his asthma attacks weren’t real, they were psychosomatic. His mother had tricked him into thinking he was sick, so that she could keep him under her thumb forever. She was manipulative, but Eddie always thought it came from love. He thought she was overbearing because of what happened to her husband. His dad had died of cancer when he was five, and she was scared she’d lose him too.

At least this was what he believed until he turned sixteen.

On his sixteenth birthday, he learned the truth about himself and his father’s death. Frank Kaspbrak was a scientist who worked for the government. He had been working on something that was so confidential that even his wife, Sonia didn’t know about it. Apparently, they’d created a formula that would enhance normal human abilities, and give one super strength, super speed, super senses, the whole deal. Only what the government didn’t know was that Frank has injected the serum into himself, because he knew they couldn’t be trusted with something so powerful. And when Eddie was born, the powers had been passed onto him. Frank and Sonia stayed low-key, and moved to Derry. He was so sure they wouldn’t find him in that small town in the middle of nowhere, but boy was he wrong. Five years after Eddie was born, they somehow found Frank, and killed him for betraying the government. They had no idea that Eddie had powers though. With his dying breath, Frank gave Sonia a box with a folder and some medicines, the only pills that hadn’t been placebos. And on his sixteenth birthday Eddie found the folder under a lose floorboard in the attic, and realised that he had been living a lie.

He confronted his mother, and she cried and told him everything. The medicines in that box were suppressants, to keep him safe. Once he’d stop taking his pills when he was thirteen, she’d been crushing them and adding them to his food. That was the last time he spoke to his mother.

He went over to Ben’s house and told him everything. The Hanscoms were more than happy to take Eddie in, and he lived with them until he finished high school. In those two years, his powers began to manifest, and with help from Ben, he learned how to control them. When they moved to New York, it was Ben who convinced him to use his powers for good. Besides, becoming a superhero was basically raising a middle finger to his mom, who thought he was too weak and delicate to accomplish anything. They got help from Ben’s girlfriend and Eddie’s classmate Beverly, and within a few weeks, Eddie was New York’s first superhero (that wasn’t fictional, of course).

Eddie’d been at the superhero gig for almost six years now. He was surprised that nobody had actually killed him yet.   Maybe he was just that good.

He was pulled out of his reverie as his alarm rang for the second time.

“Okay, okay, I’m awake. Shut the fuck up now.” He then proceeded to slap himself for talking to an inanimate object. Apparently the serum had enhanced everything except his brain, because he was still pretty fucking dumb. He was just glad he didn’t have a roommate to hear him.

Speaking of roommates, his old one Stan Uris had moved out, and his new one was to move in today. Stan had been Eddie’s roommate in college, and the arrangement had continued after graduation. Stan had been the perfect roommate. He was neat, tidy, and kept the apartment clean all the time. Eddie, being a hypochondriac, appreciated this. Stan never did anything to disturb him, and they got along so well. So Eddie was pretty bummed when Stan told him he was moving out.

_“Stanny, you can’t be serious.”_

_“I am Eddie. Look, I love Patty, and I want to take this next step with her. Besides, I really think we should live together for a bit before I ask her to marry me, you know. It’ll make everything easier.”_

_Eddie sighed. Stan was that one friend that everyone has who has their life together at the age of twenty-five. Stan and Patty had been dating since their second year of college, and they were the most precious couple. They were the kinds that would last forever, and moving in together only supported that belief. Besides, Eddie couldn’t deny him that happiness._

_“Okay, fine. But where am I going to find a new roommate?”_

_“You don’t need to worry about that,” said Stan, pulling up his laptop and logging into Facebook. “One of my childhood friends is moving to New York in a couple of weeks, and he needs a place to stay. He may be a piece of work, but he’s a good guy. I promise he’s not a serial killer or any kind of criminal, he’s just an idiot. But if I could handle him without murdering him, I’m sure you can as well.”_

_“What’s his name? And why’s he moving to New York?”_

_“Richie Tozier. He got offered a job at The New York Times as a photographer.” Stan turned the laptop around to show him his Facebook profile._

_Eddie had to admit, the dude was kinda cute. He had curly black hair that fell to his shoulders, and giant coke bottle glasses that magnified his warm brown eyes, and wore the ugliest Christmas sweater Eddie had ever seen in his profile picture, but he somehow made it work. He didn’t look like a threat, but one can never be too sure._

_“Are you sure I can trust this guy?”_

_Stan sighed. “Look, I’ve known Richie since we were in diapers. And while there are a lot of things about him I can’t tolerate, I’d sell my soul for him. So trust me when I say he’s a good guy, even if you don’t trust him.”_

_And Eddie did trust Stan. Besides, they were similar. And if he could handle this guy, then so could Eddie._

_“Okay, fine. Let him know he’s got a place to stay.”_

Richie was scheduled to arrive that day.  Eddie had stalked him on social media. What he learned about this guy was that he had a terrible sense of humour, loved Hawaiian print shirts and eighties music, enjoyed impersonating people, and was an amazing photographer. He seemed like an okay enough guy, and Eddie didn’t think he’d have any problems with him.

He finished his shower and checked his phone for any notifications. He had two missed calls from Stan and four texts from his coworker, Mike Hanlon. He chose to respond to the text first.

**Mike: Good morning Eddie :)**  
**Mike: I spoke to Marcia and she’s agreed to switch shifts with you**  
**Mike: so you can take the evening shift from 4-12**  
**Mike: that cool?**

Well, that was good news. Richie was supposed to be here at noon, and now he could be home to welcome him.

**Eddie: yes mike that’s great**  
**Eddie: thanks a ton!**

**Mike: no worries :)**

Eddie decided to call Stan back before he forgets. Stan picked up right after the first ring.

“Hey, Stan. What’s up?”

_“Richie’s flight lands in a couple of hours. I’ll pick him up from the airport and come over. Will you be home?”_

“Yeah, my shift got changed. I’ll be there.”

_“Okay, great. I’ll see you then. Bye!”_

“Bye, Stanley. Say hi to Patty for me.”

_“I will.”_

And with that he cut the call. He spent the rest of his morning cleaning up the apartment, texting Bev, and waiting eagerly for his new roommate. He was so nervous that he didn’t even realise how quickly the time had passed. He jumped when he heard the knock on the door. He quickly smoothed out his shirt and opened the door.

If Eddie thought Richie was cute in pictures, he was not prepared for real life. For starters, he was really tall, easily around 6'3 (but then again, everyone was tall compared to Eddie who stood at 5'7). His nose and cheeks were covered in a splatter of freckles, and all Eddie wanted to do was trace them. And he had the prettiest smile Eddie had ever seen.

“Hi!” His voice was a little rough, but it had a weird boyish charm to it that was kind of attractive. He stuck his hand out. “Richie Tozier, at your service.”

Eddie shook it. His hand was rough and calloused, and all Eddie could imagine were those fingers tracing his cheeks.

He shook his head and willed the blush in his cheeks to go away. Having these thoughts about your new roommate was definitely not the smartest idea.

“I’m Eddie,” he said, taking his hand back and shoving it into his pockets.

“Hiya, Eds! What’s cookin’, good lookin’?”

Eddie felt his cheeks heat up again. “Don’t call me that.”

“No can do, Eds. It’s a nickname!”

“Eddie is already a nickname.”

“It’s not as cute as Eds though. You need a name that does you justice.”

Eddie was about to open his mouth to argue, but someone cleared their throat. He’d almost forgotten Stan was there as well.

“Eddie, can we come in?”

He nodded and moved out of the way. Stan helped Richie move his things to his room. He realised that Richie hadn’t really brought a lot of stuff. He carried a guitar case, a bag that probably contained his camera and lenses, and a single giant suitcase. He didn’t really need to bring anything else, he figured, since the room was already furnished.

“Well,” said Stan, “I’m sure you can unpack all your stuff on your own, Richie. I’ve gotta go, and if you need anything, ask Eddie, and for the love of god don’t call me, or Patty’ll lose it.”

Richie chuckled and slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, Stanathan. You go do your thang. Say hi to the missus for moi.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Dick. Bye Eddie. If he gets too annoying, don’t hesitate to kill him.”

Eddie laughed. “I’ll try not to do that. Bye Stan.”

Stan left the apartment, and the silence was a little awkward. Eddie cleared his throat. “So, uh,  do you want anything to eat?”

“Offering me food? A man who owns my heart,” he drawled out in a Southern Belle accent.

Eddie scrunched his nose. “That was terrible.”

“Nah, Eds, I think it was amazing.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

Richie ignored him and lay down on the couch. “So, I know this is going to sound totally weird and random, but I think you should know this since you’re  now my roommate which also automatically makes us friends, and if we’re friends, you have to deal with this side of me.”

Eddie felt his stomach drop. “Oh my god, you work as a part-time hitman, don’t you?”

Richie laughed. It was a beautiful laugh. “Sadly, no, it’s not that interesting.”

“Oh. Well, what is it?”

“Well,” he looked down and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “There’s a reason I came to New York.”

“Isn’t it because of your job?”

“Yeah, but there’s a reason I specifically chose New York. I mean, I could have worked in LA as well, and maybe even got into the acting business. But I had to come to New York. I mean, it’s Wonder Boy’s home.”

Eddie choked on air. For the first time in ages, he wanted to use his inhaler. “What?”

“Yeah, you know, the superhero, Wonder Boy? I’m kinda obsessed with him. I even run a podcast on the side where I spend three hours a week just talking about him. As soon as I had enough money and could leave LA, I came here, because I just have to see him. He’s, like, my idol.”

So, his new roommate was his superhero persona’s fanboy. Yep, that was  _definitely_ not going to be a problem.


	2. Wonder Woman wannabe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie continued rambling. "Yeah, I'm kind of in love with him. I mean, he's great. The most perfect thing in the universe."
> 
> "You've never met him! Or seen his face! How can you be in love with someone who you've never seen?"
> 
> "Hey, have you seen his ass in that spandex? It's honestly a gift from god."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very happy with this chapter, but oh well. It's a filler, but still necessary.

The first thing that came to Richie's mind when he saw his new roommate was  _cute_. He barely came up to his neck, had fluffy brown hair that curled near his ears, the softest brown eyes he'd ever seen, and the cutest design of freckles on a person's face. And he absolutely loved the way his cheeks went red when he called him good looking, and his adorable reaction to the nickname Richie had given him. God had truly blessed him with an angel.

The only issue Richie had was his reaction to his love for his favourite superhero. Eddie looked at him weirdly when he was talking about Wonder Boy, like he was secretly judging him. But Richie didn't care. Wonder Boy was his favourite person on the planet, and he hadn't even met him. But he admired him so much. In his opinion, Wonder Boy was brave, strong, confident, kind, and every other positive adjective he could think of. He was undoubtedly the best part of New York, hell, probably even America. The only thing Richie wanted was to come face to face to the man in that tight blue and gold suit, even if he wore his mask. He loved that man, in more ways than just admiration.

"Well, I can't say I share your feelings, but you do you." Eddie's voice brought him out of his daydream. He stood up and walked to the kitchen island. Eddie was busy making some lasagna for them.

"So, what do you think about Wonder Boy?"

Eddie snorted. "I think he'd hate that name."

"Why?"

"'Cause it's fucking stupid. It makes him sound like a Wonder Woman wannabe, and she's too badass to be compared to some local vigilante. No one can be her."

Richie considered this. "That's true. But I guess he's the closest we'll get to real life Wonder Woman though."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "You're hyping him up. He's not that great. And also, I don't think he appreciates being called a boy. Like, I'm pretty sure he's not a kid."

Richie chuckled. "Well, I sure hope not. Otherwise my crush on him would be really creepy and wrong."

Eddie spun around with wide eyes and a bright red face. "What?"

_Holy shit, was Eddie homophobic?_

Richie didn't dwell on it too much though. He continued rambling. "Yeah, I'm kind of in love with him. I mean, he's great. The most perfect thing in the universe."

"You've never met him! Or seen his face! How can you be in love with someone who you've never seen?"

"Hey, have you seen his ass in that spandex? It's honestly a gift from god."

Eddie spluttered. "W-what?"

"Yeah! But like, it's not just a physical thing for me, y'know? I really admire him. I love how he always goes out of his way to help people. He just seems like such a genuine person, deep down."

"But what if you see his face and realise that you don't like him?"

"Honestly, even if he looked like a toad with its skin turned inside out, I'd still love him as much. Gosh, he's perfect." Richie set his palm against his cheek, and he had the dopiest look on his face. He was so overwhelmed with love for his idol, that he missed the way Eddie's face was completely pink and was biting back a grin of his own.

Eddie turned back to cook lunch. Richie sat at the kitchen island, and continued to talk. He asked about Eddie's job, and he told him all about Neibolt Industries and how they were currently working on a cure for AIDS. They spoke about Stan, and Eddie told him some pretty great stories of them in college. Richie wished he'd been a part of that. Stan was his oldest friend, and they'd done everything together, except college. Stan went to NYU to get his degree in business and accounting, while Richie decided to stay on the West Coast, getting a degree in communications with a minor in photography. They'd stayed in touch though, and Face-Timed once a week. Richie was just glad he was back in his life.

After finishing lunch, Richie went into his room to unpack. He didn't have a lot of things. He hung his clothes in the closet, set up his equipment on his desk, arranged his records on his shelf, and put up his posters on the wall.

"Wow."

Richie spun around to see Eddie standing at his door. He was staring at an A3 sized framed photograph of Wonder Boy on the roof of a truck that hung above his bed.

"Did you take that?"

Richie nodded. "Back in 2015 I'd come to New York for a couple of days, before Stan and I headed to Florida."

"Oh yeah, I remember Stan telling me about that."

"Anyway, these dudes had robbed a bank and Wonder Boy was after them, and I managed to click the picture when their truck passed me on the street. It was the best moment of my life."

Eddie gulped and nodded. "Well, it's a great picture. You're really talented."

"Aww, Eds! You know, that's not the only talent I have, your mom can tell you all about them!"

Eddie gagged and rolled his eyes. "Jeez, what are you, twelve?

Richie wiggle his eyebrows. "Twelve inches, baby."

"Gross. Anyway, I need to get to work. My shift ends at 12, so don't wait up for me. There's leftovers in the fridge, or you can order in, whatever you want."

"Okay, cool."

"I, uh, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Eddie Spaghetti!"

Eddie scoffed. "It's just Eddie!" he yelled, before slamming the door behind him.

Richie sighed and flopped onto the bed. He scrolled through social media for a while, making sure to follow Eddie on every platform. He stalked his Instagram, and he had to admit, Eddie was incredibly photogenic. His feed was mainly filled with pastel colours and aesthetic pictures, especially of this one redhead, who was probably his girlfriend. He felt an irrational pang of jealousy at that, but it was only for a moment.

He killed a couple of hours doing that, and then decided to film an episode for his podcast. He filled his listeners in on his new living situation, and how was looking forward to seeing the love of his life.

Around seven, he finished dinner. He wanted to head out and see if he could catch Wonder Boy in action, but he was exhausted after his flight. Instead, he changed into his sleep clothes, which were basically a pair of sweat pants and a loose t-shirt. He crawled into bed and read a few articles about Wonder Boy before his eyelids started to feel heavy. Soon enough, he was fast asleep, dreaming about a young man in blue and gold spandex.

 

* * *

 

When Richie woke up the next day, Eddie was still asleep. He figured that he must've got back pretty late the previous night, and he needed the rest. He fixed himself some coffee and eggs, took a quick shower, and got ready for work. It was his first day, and he needed to make a good impression. He settled on wearing a grey button up over his black skinny jeans, and a navy blue jacket. He brushed his hair so that his curls weren't a wreck. He even decided to wear contacts instead of his glasses. Once he was happy with how he looked, he grabbed his camera bag and left the room.

Eddie was sitting at the kitchen island, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey."

Eddie jumped at the voice. When he saw that it was just his roommate, he calmed. "Hey. You're leaving for work?"

"Yeah, it's my first day. I want to make a good impression."

"You'll be fine, don't worry."

"Fingers crossed. Anyway, I'll see you in the evening?"

"Yeah, I don't have work today. I'll be at home, so call if you need anything."

"Will do, Spaghetti. Anyway, uh, bye!"

Richie shut the door behind him before he could hear Eddie's complaint about the nickname. He took the Subway to his work place. Despite the morning rush, he'd managed to make it on time. He quickly headed up to his boss' office.

He knocked on the door. "Mr. Carr?"

The man at the desk looked up. His horn rimmed glasses were perched on the tip of his nose, and his lips were curled into a scowl. "What is it?"

"I-uh, my name is Richie Tozier. I'd applied for the job of a photographer."

That seemed to ring some bells. "Ah, yes. Mr. Tozier, our new photographer. Here's your ID," he said, handing him a lanyard and a card with his name and photograph on it. "Your desk the one next to Denbrough. Go make yourself useful." He waved Richie off.

Richie looked around his workplace. How was he supposed to find this Denbrough person?

He saw a young man with auburn hair, hunched over a sketch pad. He seemed like he was the same age as Richie, and may be an inch shorter. He wore a red flannel button up over his dark blue jeans.

Richie approached him. "Hey, do you know who Denbrough is?"

The guy jumped and looked up. "Depends. Wh-who's asking?"

"Uh, well, I'm Richie Tozier, and I'm new here, and Mr. Carr told me desk is next to some Denbrough."

The guy pointed to the desk next to him. He stuck out his hand. "B-bill Denbrough. Journalist, and occasional cartoonist."

Richie shook his hand and smiled. "I'm a photographer."

"Yeah, I f-figured," said Bill, pointing to his camera bag.

Richie nodded and set his things up. He made a little small talk with Bill, and asked him about the workplace and their boss. Bill told him that Carr was kind of a dick, but he was really good at his job, and expected nothing short of perfection. This made Richie nervous. He really wanted to impress this guy.

"But don't worry, he not a complete d-douche bag," said Bill, continuing on his sketch, which seemed to be of a beautiful red haired woman, "he has his nice moments as well, you just need to be lucky enough—"

Bill was cut short by Carr's door slamming open. "Denbrough, Tozier, there's a fire down East Avenue. Go cover it."

The two quickly grabbed their things and headed to the site of the chaos. As they approached the area, Richie could see huge fumes coming from one of the buildings. He could hear the sirens blaring, and the cops and firemen had barricaded the whole area. They flashed their ids to get access. People were being loaded into ambulances. Some were crying for loved ones who were still trapped in the building. The firemen were trying their hardest to put out the fire, but it just kept growing.

Richie snapped a few pictures of the scene around him. He clicked some of the fire, the people watching, and the cops doing their job. He pointed his camera toward the building to get another picture of the fire, when he saw a quick flash of blue and gold.

"Holy shit."

"Oh my god, it's Wonder Boy!" someone screamed from the crowed. And sure enough, Wonder Boy was scaling the building, and jumping into the heart of the fire.

"No!" Richie screamed. He couldn't believe his favourite person was sacrificing himself. Realistically, he knew nothing would happen to him, but he still couldn't shake the fear that was felt when a loved one was in danger.

Like a Phoenix rising from the flames, Wonder Boy emerged from the smoke, in all his blue and gold glory, carrying a little girl in his arms. The crowded erupted into cheers. He carefully climbed down the building. Richie pointed his camera at him and began snapping away. He got some really good shots, and he knew he had something to admire before going to bed that night.

Wonder Boy landed on the ground safely and handed to little girl over to an officer.  _Now's my chance,_ thought Richie, and he began walking towards him, but Bill grabbed his arm.

"Hey, where are you going? The f-fire's not out yet."

"I know, I just—"

When he turned towards the officer, Wonder Boy was already gone. Richie looked around, but he was nowhere in sight.

He sighed. "Never mind."

Richie shook his head. He'd get him next time, for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter introduces the plot!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


	3. Sounds like the plot for a really good Netflix series

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been three months since Richie had moved in. And in those three months, this is what Eddie had learned:
> 
> 1\. Richie Tozier was loud, obnoxious, and had the sense of humour of a twelve year old.  
> 2\. He loved using Voices, even though most of his impersonations were shit.  
> 3\. He could definitely be serious if he wanted, and was a great person to confide in.  
> 4\. His obsession with Wonder Boy was almost unhealthy, and definitely creepy, but also kind of endearing (not that he'd ever tell him that).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're finally introduced to the plot!

It had been three months since Richie had moved in. And in those three months, this is what Eddie had learned:

1\. Richie Tozier was loud, obnoxious, and had the sense of humour of a twelve year old.  
2\. He loved using Voices, even though most of his impersonations were shit.  
3\. He could definitely be serious if he wanted, and was a great person to confide in.  
4\. His obsession with Wonder Boy was almost unhealthy, and definitely creepy, but also kind of endearing (not that he'd ever tell him that).

He learned the first two facts through general observation and normal conversation. Sometimes, when Richie would just get too much, he'd beep him (something he'd learned from Stan). Another thing that he'd learned from Stan was that his nickname was Trashmouth, and it was pretty apt.

He learned the third fact after a particularly bad phone call, around a month ago.

_Richie and Eddie were curled up on the couch, binging Rick and Morty, when Eddie's phone buzzed. The screen lit up with an unknown number._

_"Who is it?" asked Richie._

_Eddie shrugged. "No clue. Mind if I take it?"_

_Richie shook his head, and Eddie excused himself to his bedroom._

_"Hello?"_

_"Is this Eddie Kaspbrak?"_

_"Yes, may I know who's speaking?"_

_"Good evening, Mr. Kaspbrak. My name is Dr. Roy Morse, and I'm calling from Derry Memorial Hospital. This is regarding your mother, Sonia Kaspbrak."_

_Eddie clenched his fist. "What about her?"_

_"I'm sorry to inform you, but this morning, she passed away due to a heart attack."_

_Eddie was positive he'd stopped breathing. His mind was rushing with too many things to string words into a sentence._

_"I'm very sorry for your loss."_

_Eddie was numb. He didn't know how to respond._

_"Mr. Kaspbrak, are you there?"_

_Eddie blinked. "Uh, yeah. I'm here." His voice was hollow._

_"Mr. Kaspbrak, we need to discuss funeral arrangements."_

_Eddie was in no position to think. "Uh, can we do that tomorrow? I'm sorry, I just need—"_

_"Yes, of course, I understand. Please call me back on this number when you're ready."_

_"Thank you."_

_With that, he cut the call. He slumped down on the floor. He couldn't even process the information. His mother, who he hadn't spoken to in nine years, had died. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't know how to feel about that. He hated her, and they hadn't left things on the best note. But she was still his mother. She'd cared for him, loved him, even though her way of showing it was through manipulation. And he felt guilty. Guilty that a part of him was glad she was dead._

_He didn't know how long he'd spent staring at the wall in front of him, but it must have been a while, since Richie came to check up on him._

_"Eds? What's wrong?"_

_Eddie looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks. Sometime during his guilt fest, he'd started crying. "My mom's dead."_

_"Oh, baby," said Richie, sitting down next to him and pulling him into a hug. "I'm so sorry."_

_Eddie shook his head. "Don't be. She was a bitch."_

_He told Richie everything. Well, not everything, but he told him about the placebos and fake asthma, his hypochondria, and how when he was sixteen, left her forever. He told him about his father, and how after he died she did everything to keep her under her thumb. He told him about her manipulative ways. He told her how he was glad she was dead._

_"Does that make me a bad person?"_

_"No, of course not Eds. She ruined your life. You're allowed to feel upset about that. You're allowed to hate her. Hell, even I hate her, and I'm fucking her!"_

_Eddie frowned. "Ever heard of respect?"_

_Richie scratched his neck awkwardly. "Sorry. I just— I don't what to say at times like these. Jokes are kinda my default."_

_"It's fine. I wouldn't know what to say either."_

_Richie sighed and kissed the top of his head. "C'mon, Eddie, you should get some rest."_

_Richie helped him into bed. As he turned to leave the room, Eddie grabbed his arm. "Will you stay with me? Until I fall asleep?"_

_Richie turned pink. "Uh, yeah, sure." He crawled into bed next to Eddie._

_That was the first night they spent together in the same bed._

After that night, Richie and Eddie were closer than normal. Eddie would definitely consider Richie one of his closest friends.

The fourth fact was the most problematic thing about Richie. It wasn't that he had a problem with Richie crushing on him, it was just that his infatuation was a little crazy. Richie would sneak out on most nights to get a glimpse of Wonder Boy, and Eddie had to make sure he avoided him. He was so conscious, that it made kicking butt a little difficult for him. Richie was unknowingly interfering with his work, and he hated it.

And that wasn't it. Richie would run all his theories by him, and Eddie had to pretend they were actually good, and bite back the truth. A couple of days ago, they had been discussing the origin of his powers.

_"So, how do you Wonder Boy got his powers?"_

_Eddie rolled his eyes. "Richie, no offence, but I don't care about him. He's overrated."_

_Richie clutched his heart dramatically. "My love hath betrayed me!"_

_"Yeah, yeah."_

_"But really, Spaghetti. You shouldn't say such things about him. When he saves your life someday, you'll be very thankful."_

_Eddie snorted. "I highly doubt that."_

_"But what do you think?"_

_"What?"_

_"How did he get his powers?"_

_His dad created a formula to enhance abilities and injected it into himself to keep it away from the government and his son inherited those mutated genes._

_"Uh, I dunno. Maybe he's an alien. Like Superman."_

_Richie considered this. "It could be possible. But nah, I don't think so."_

_"Okay, what's your theory?"_

_"Well, I think he was a lab experiment."_

_Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Like Captain America?"_

_"Not exactly. You know, back in the eighties, in this town in Indiana, the government had a secret lab, and one of the patients broke free. Apparently she was telekinetic."_

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah, it's a huge government conspiracy. It's basically the only thing Hawkins is know for. It's crazy."_

_"It sounds like the plot for a really good Netflix series."_

_"It does, doesn't it?"_

Needless to say, Eddie had to be extra careful about what he said in front of Richie. One slip, and Richie would instantly know his secret. He had to be cautious about everything.

Thankfully, that night, he didn't have to worry about Richie. He was out drinking with his friends from work. Eddie could freely roam the streets of New York, catching bad guys. But unluckily for him, there were barely any criminals out that night.

"Bev, do you have anything for me?"

_"Nada. It's surprisingly quiet."_

"Anything from the NYPD?"

_"Just a bunch of missing persons reports."_

That was another thing that had started happening in the last couple of months. A bunch of kids and teenagers had been going missing. Nobody knew why, and they couldn't even find them. The cops were working twenty-four/seven on the case, but there were still no leads.

"Great. That's absolutely perfect."

_"You know, you should be glad you're getting some time off."_

"But Beverly, I love this part of my life!"

_"I know you do, but maybe this is a good thing. We finally have time to catch up."_

"Catch up on what?"

_"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe your roommate who you should've definitely boned by now?"_

Eddie groaned. "Bev, stop. He doesn't see me that way."

_"He's got the biggest crush on you!"_

"Um, no. He's got the biggest crush on Wonder Boy, not Eddie Kaspbrak. I bet if he knew I was his favourite superhero, he'd change his mind."

_"He keeps calling you cute and pinching your cheeks! And he gives you cute nicknames! He definitely has a crush on you."_

"I'm pretty sure he flirts with everyone like that. I'm not someone special."

_"Keep telling yourself that, darling. You'll see the truth soon."_

Eddie rolled his eyes. "There is nothing to see. We're just friends. And it's not going to be anything more."

_"Whatever you say, Eddie._

"What is your obsession with me getting laid anyway? I have a perfectly healthy sex life."

_"Eddie, you haven't had sex since like, 2013."_

"That is not true. Just last month I hooked up with a Tinder date, okay."

_"I meant sex with someone you actually like. You're too busy focusing on being Wonder Boy to pursue any kind of romantic relationship."_

"And that's fine. Wonder Boy doesn't need romance."

Bev sighed in his ear. _"You're too stubborn for your own good._ _"_ She was going to argue further, but was interrupted by a beeping sound. _"I've got two jobs for you."_

"What are they?"

_"Well, one is a cat stuck in a tree. And the other is two high schoolers vandalising a billboard with the President's face on it."_

"Cat stuck in a tree is definitely more important. Send me the details."

Bev chuckled in his ear.  _"On it."_

* * *

"I swear to god, Mikey. If I have to analyse another blood sample that is completely normal, I will blow my head off."

Mike smiled. "Come on, Eddie. You love this job."

Eddie sighed and leaned against his bench. "I do, but it's so repetitive! I want to do something new!"

"Like what?"

"You know, stuff like cancer research. Or virology. Instead we're stuck here doing blood tests."

"Why don't you check up if there are any new projects you can get assigned to?"

"New projects? Like what?"

Mike shrugged. "I don't know. A couple of days ago I overheard Dr. Keene and Mr. Gray talking about something called Project Red Balloon."

"That sounds dumb."

"I dunno. Apparently it has something to do with fear."

"Fear?"

"Yeah. I don't know much, I didn't listen the whole conversation. But maybe you could check it out."

"If Mr. Gray is involved, it's probably confidential. I don't have the clearance to be a part of something like that."

"I guess you're right."

"Kaspbrak! Hanlon!"

Dr. Keene, their supervisor, stood by their table. "Are we paying you to gossip?"

"No, sir. We're sorry."

Eddie quickly went back to analysing his samples, trying to ignore the look Dr. Keene was giving him. It was almost predatory.

"I don't want to see either of you wasting your time again."

Mike nodded. "It won't happen again, sir. We promise."

Dr. Keene grumbled and walked away. Eddie gave him a dirty look. "He's such a creep."

"He is very strange."

The two worked quietly, analysing samples and noting down the results. By the time their shift was over, Eddie had decided that he never wanted to see blood again. He went to the locker room, showered and changed into fresh clothes. As he was leaving the room, he heard two voices whispering.

"We need more subjects."

"We can't keep plucking people off the streets."

 _What the fuck?_ Eddie couldn't believe what he was hearing. It made no sense. He followed the sound of the voices. As he approached the corner, he saw Dr. Keene and the CEO of Neibolt Industries, Mr. Robert Gray, talking quietly in an empty conference room. He hid behind a wall and used his superhearing to listen in.

"Look, Keene, our current subjects are not responding to the new batch of drugs. Some of them have already gone insane."  _Insane?_

"I know, sir. But we're already taking these people without their consent. We can't do that to more."

_What the hell was going on?_

"Keene, if you're afraid of being a criminal, I'm sorry, but it's too late. What you've done so far is definitely illegal."

"You said you'd protect me."

"And I will. But you need to hold up your end of the deal as well. Get me more subjects for Project Red Balloon, and test the new formula on them. That's an order."

Keene gulped and nodded. He quickly left the room and walked in the opposite direction. Eddie crouched down onto the floor, trying to process what he'd heard.

So, his boss and supervisor were working on a project that was definitely illegal. And the people involved in the project were being tested on without their consent. And some of these people had gone insane. And from what Mike had told him earlier, Project Red Balloon had something to do with fear.

So what are these drugs and what the hell are they doing to people? Something was definitely fishy, and he was going to find out why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


	4. Not everything is a dick, Richard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bev looked at Eddie with the most smug look he'd ever seen. "Wonder Boy is the love of your life?"
> 
> Stan rolled his eyes. "He's never even met the dude, and he's convinced they're soulmates."
> 
> "It's true love at first sight, Stanley! WonderMouth is end game!"
> 
> Stan looked at him like he was the camera on The Office, while Mike scrunched his eyebrows. "Is that some kind of euphemism?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The losers finally meet each other!

In the three months that Richie Tozier had spent in New York, he had learned two things that mattered. One was that New York isn't as awful as he thought it would be, and the other was Wonder Boy is a hard person to track.

Almost every night, Richie would leave the house with his camera, in hopes of capturing his idol in action, but he hadn't got a single picture of him since the day of the fire. It was so frustrating. He even hung out at possible crime scenes to catch him. This one time he even broke the law himself, by setting a tree on fire, but the only one who caught him was a rookie cop doing his rounds. It was almost like Wonder Boy was avoiding him, which seemed ridiculous, since he had no idea who he was.

On the bright side though, he and Eddie were a lot closer, especially after he told him about his childhood. They'd hang out together a lot, watching tv or playing video games. Richie really liked him, but he was pretty sure he wasn't single. He'd heard Eddie leave the apartment at night, and heard him sneak in early in the morning. And the weird part was, he'd leave through his window. That could only mean one thing: secret affair.

Another plus side of moving to New York was Bill Denbrough. Apart from Stan and Eddie, Bill was Richie's closest friend. Bill was an amazing guy. He was sweet, charming, beautiful. He had a heart of gold. Richie would follow him to the end of the world without any arguments. Bill just had that thing about him that made Richie want to always be there for him, no matter what.

So when he walked into work that day and saw Bill with his head in his palms, he knew he would do whatever Bill would ask of him.

"Hey, Big Bill! What's goin' on?"

Bill looked up. His nose was red and blotchy. He had bags under his eyes. His hair was greasy and unkempt.

"Woah. Rough night?"

Bill nodded. "Guh-guh-guh-georgie, my brother went muh-missing last n-night."

Richie knew about Georgie and how much Bill loved him. He couldn't imagine what Bill was going through.

"I'm so sorry, Bill. Are you sure he isn't at some friend's house?"

Bill shook his head firmly. "He's missing. I'm sure."

Richie sighed. "Look, I know with all these people going missing all over the city it's easy to assume the worst, but you don't have to. He's sixteen years old. He probably spent the night at some party or with some girl. Teens do that all the time. Don't worry, he'll come home."

Bill frowned, but didn't say anything. Richie was sure he'd heard the same false promises from other people as well.

His phone buzzed and he took it out to see a text from Eddie.

**Eddie Spaghetti <3: are you free this evening?**

**Trashmouth: gee eds r u asking me out on a date ;)**

**Eddie Spaghetti <3: you wish**  
**Eddie Spaghetti <3: Stan, a couple of our friends from college, and I are going out to a board game bar**

**Trashmouth: i love board games!!!!!**

**Eddie Spaghetti <3: great! So will you join us?**

Richie turned to Bill. "Hey, Billiam, do you want to do something tonight?"

"What?"

"My roommate invited me to a board game bar. Do you want to come along?"

"But G-G-Georgie..."

"Hey, come on, it'll be fun. It'll help take your mind off him. It'll be good for you, I promise."

Bill sighed and nodded slowly. "Okay."

Richie grinned and typed out a response.

**Trashmouth: can i bring a friend?**

**Eddie Spaghetti <3: um i guess**

**Trashmouth: u r the best Spaghetti Man**

**Trashmouth: HEY THAT SHOULD BE UR SUPERHERO NAME**

**Eddie Spaghetti <3: ugh no that's worse**

Richie raised an eyebrow.

**Trashmouth: worse than what**

**Eddie Spaghetti <3: uhhh**  
**Eddie Spaghetti <3: my superhero name using that meme**  
**Eddie Spaghetti <3: you know with your birthday and first letter and stuff**

**Trashmouth: ohkay...**

Richie put his phone away and turned to talk to Bill. He still looked sad, but he was a little less gloomy that earlier. Richie smiled. Hopefully his day would just get better.

* * *

Eddie shook his leg nervously and kept glancing at the clock. It was almost seven p.m. Richie and his friend would be there any moment.

"Would you stop?" said Bev, holding his knee. "He'll be here."

"Yeah, he'll be here, with his  _friend_."

Bev rolled her eyes. "I thought you didn't like him?"

Eddie felt his cheeks go red. "I don't. It's just... we don't know this friend. How can we trust him?"

"We're going to play board games. Not discuss your after-dark activities."

Eddie opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by the door slamming open.

"Your grace, Richie Tozier has arrived!"

Stan rolled his eyes and pulled him to the table where Bev and Eddie were seated. Behind him was a tall, auburn haired man with kind eyes. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and light jeans. Eddie's heart sank. He was really pretty.

"Eds!" Richie ran to him and placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

Eddie grimaced. "Don't call me that."

Richie ignored him. Instead he turned to Bev. "And who may this lovely lass be?" he said, in what was supposed to be a Scottish accent.

Bev rolled her eyes. "Bev Marsh."

Richie took her hand and kissed it. "Richie Tozier. Pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle."

A voice behind them cleared their throat. Richie spun around to face Mike and Ben, the latter who had his eyebrow raised.

"Richie," said Eddie, "this is Mike, and Ben. Guys, this is Richie."

"Ahh," said Ben, "the infamous Richie Tozier. Eddie doesn't shut up about you."

Eddie's face turned bright pink. "Ben!"

Richie turned to him and smirked. "Does he now? What does he talk about? Only dirty things, I hope."

"Among other things."

"No, I don't!" Eddie shrieked, as Bev cackled next to him.

"W-well, if it makes you feel any b-better, Richie doesn't shut up about you either." Richie's friend, who was quiet up until now, said.

"Billiam, how can you betray my trust like this? I thought we were friends!"

His friend rolled his eyes. "The only person he talks about more is probably Wonder Boy."

Eddie scoffed as Bev nudged him with her elbow. "Tell me about it."

"Anyway," said Richie, "this is Bill, my coworker. Big Bill, this is, Stan, Eddie, Bev, Mike, Ben." He tapped everybody on the head duck, duck, goose style.

"Hey, I know you!" said Mike. "Weren't you in Columbia?"

Bill nodded. "We had psychology together. Second year."

"Well, well, well," said Richie, "it's a small world, innit?"

"Sure, Richie," said Stan, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, what are playing today?"

Ben and Mike each held up a board game. "Life, or Pictionary."

They settled on Pictionary first. Stan, Mike, Ben and Bill were on one team while Richie, Bev and Eddie were on the other. Clearly, Stan's team was winning. Bill was a great artist, so he drew most of the pictures, and the others easily understood what he was doing. Eddie's team, on the other hand, was struggling.

"That's a penis!"

"Not everything a dick, Richard!"

"That definitely looks like a pair of titties."

"Beep, beep, Richie! Its supposed to be a pair of glasses!"

The others were having the time of their lives watching Eddie and Richie bicker. They would argue about the dumbest of things. It was the middle school style of flirting.

Bev leaned in and whispered, "Your gay is showing."

Eddie smacked her arm.

"So, Richie," said Stan, as they were setting up Life, "have you managed to spot the love of your life yet?"

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Richie sighed. "Unfortunately, no, Stan the Man. It's almost like Wonder Boy is avoiding me."

Bev looked at Eddie with the most smug look he'd ever seen. "Wonder Boy is the love of your life?"

Stan rolled his eyes. "He's never even met the dude, and he's convinced they're soulmates."

"It's true love at first sight, Stanley! WonderMouth is end game!"

Stan looked at him like he was the camera on The Office, while Mike scrunched his eyebrows. "Is that some kind of euphemism?"

Richie chuckled. "'Fraid not, Micolas. That's our ship name. It was either that or TrashBoy, and that just sounds like a wannabe superhero who'd have a cameo in The Incredibles sequel."

"But why WonderMouth?" asked Ben.

"Y'know, Wonder Boy and Trashmouth? We're a match made in heaven."

Eddie tried really hard to keep the blush away, but with the way Bev kept nudging him, it was impossible.

"What if you meet him and realise he's a jerk?" said Mike, and Eddie tried his hardest not to get offended.

"Nah, he's a good guy." Both Eddie and Bev whipped their heads in Ben's direction, whose eyes grew wide when he realised what he'd said.

Stan's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that?"

"W-well," Ben spluttered, "I'm a cop. So I've met him a couple of times."

"Holy shit."

"You're a c-cop?"

Bill and Richie spoke at the same time. Ben chose to answer Bill's question. "Yeah, but I'm just a patrol officer. It's only my second year on the force."

"What do you know about the m-missing kids?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to discuss ongoing cases. Besides, that's not my department."

Bill swallowed. "I-it's fine. It's just, my bruh-brother Guh-guh-guh- fuck!"

"Georgie, his brother," said Richie, calmly, "went missing last night. So he's worried."

"I'm sorry," said Eddie, taking Bill's hand, "but he'll be fine. Stay optimistic."

Bill gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

"Hey, Haystack." Richie shoved Ben gently.

"Haystack?"

Stan rolled his eyes. "Ignore him. He gives everybody dumb nicknames."

Richie ignored Stan's comment and continued, "Do you think you can introduce me to Wonder Boy?"

Ben turned to Eddie who gave him a death glare.

"I, uh, I don't think he enjoys meeting fans."

Eddie had to physically restrain himself from smacking his forehead by grabbing Bev's hand and squeezing it.

Richie frowned while Stan laughed at him. "Well, there go your plans to woo him."

"Why doesn't he enjoy meeting fans?"

"He probably found that racy fanfiction you wrote about him when you were in college," Stan chuckled.

Eddie choked on his drink. "Fanfiction?"

"Not just any fanfiction, it was an extremely explicit one. Straight up filth. He's going to hell for it."

"Hey, in my defense, I was drunk! And besides, I was going to hell anyway. Might as well go down there a legend."

Eddie was a little bit disturbed by the fact that the dude he was attracted to wrote filthy smut about him, but for some twisted reason, a part of him kind of wanted to read it. It was a little embarrassing. He had to shake those thoughts out of his head.

"Well, Rich," said Bill, "if you do ever meet him, ask him what he's doing about those missing kids, will you?"

Eddie really wanted to jump in and defend himself, but Bev beat him to it. "I'm sure he's trying his hardest to keep everyone safe."

That was a lie. Eddie was well aware that he'd completely ignored the missing persons problem. He could prevent a kidnapping if he saw it taking place, but tracking someone was much harder. And now that Bill had mentioned it, he felt guilty. He felt like a selfish, entitled brat who only did the things that suited him, and not the things that would help everyone. If he had given the issue more attention, maybe Georgie wouldn't have gone missing.

"No, Bill's right," he said, "Wonder Boy hasn't done enough for them. He should definitely try harder."

Bev squeezed his hand and Ben gave him a sympathetic smile. Mike looked at him weirdly, but didn't say anything.

Richie tilted his head to one side and gave Eddie a strange look. "Why do you hate him so much?"

Eddie was taken aback. "I don't hate him."

"You're always shaming him. And every time I talk about him, you give me a weird look, like you're judging me."

"I'm not shaming him, I'm just acknowledging his flaws, since you clearly haven't noticed them."

"Besides," added Mike, "he probably gives you a weird look 'cause your obsession with this kid is a little strange, man."

"Et tu, Micycle? Do none of you understand my emotions for my love?"

"I do," said Bev. "I mean, I don't wanna get into his spandex like you do, but I get why you admire him."

"Finally, someone with the right mindset. Wonder Boy is a godsend, and if the rest of you can't see that, then I feel sorry for you."

Eddie's stomach was doing a complete gymnastic routine. It was so cute the way Richie spoke about him. It almost made him want to tell him the truth. Almost.

And maybe he would, someday. But for now, he can only appreciate his love for him from afar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments and kudos! 
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


	5. My heart belongs to Wonder Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan chuckled as Richie studied it, wondering how he could protect himself from someone who would have a gun. "Don't worry, Rich, your boyfriend'll save you."
> 
> "Ah, yes, my knight in shining armour."
> 
> "More like really tight pants."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has over 130 kudos????? Seriously, I love you all

Board game night with Eddie and Stan's friends had been so much fun. Richie realised that all of them fit so well together, it was crazy. It was like they were all missing pieces to a puzzle, and now the puzzle was finally complete. If in an alternate universe, they were all together and fought off a demonic child-eating clown, Richie wouldn't be surprised.

Richie realised that he wasn't the only one who felt this way. Even Bill felt a lot better after meeting the others. He'd got along really well with Stan, and Richie knew that Stan liked Bill as well. If he wasn't so madly in love with Patty, he'd probably be falling for Bill.

Richie really hit it off with Bev. They bonded over cigarettes, music, and fashion. He found out that Bev worked for a software company, but she also worked part-time as a costume designer for low-budget plays. Another thing he loved about her was that she was a fan of Wonder Boy as well, if not to the same extent as him. She seemed like she knew some stuff about him, but he didn't want to press. If she could talk to him, then so could he.

The only thing that bothered him was Eddie. The entire night, Eddie kept giving him strange looks, especially when he was talking about Wonder Boy. He knew Eddie didn't really care about his obsession, but now it seemed like he was disgusted by it. He'd ruled out the homophobia theory when one night Eddie had told him about his terrible boyfriend in college. So the only other theory he had left was that Eddie thought fanboys in general were weird. He wouldn't be surprised by that, fan people were a little crazy sometimes.

But he couldn't deal with Eddie's judgement. When it came to other people, even Stan, Richie didn't care what they thought of his obsession. But with Eddie, he wanted his approval. He desperately wanted Eddie to like him, and he had no idea why. Well, he did know why. It was because he had a small _(major)_ crush on his roommate. So he tried toning it down. He didn't mention Wonder Boy in front of Eddie at all anymore. It was hard, but he managed to do it. He was certain that Eddie appreciated it.

So imagine his surprise when Eddie brought the topic up when they were eating dinner and watching Animal Planet.

"I've noticed something," said Eddie, twirling his spaghetti around his fork.

"Whaf iz it?" Richie asked, his mouth full.

Eddie scrunched up his nose. "Don't talk with your mouth full." _Cute._

Richie swallowed and repeated. "What is it?"

"You don't talk about Wonder Boy much anymore. Are you over him?"

Richie laughed. "I could never be over Wonder Boy, he is my everything. I just, I thought you got annoyed whenever I spoke about him, so I decided not to mention him around you." He looked down bashfully.

"Oh. That's considerate."

"Yeah."

"But I don't get annoyed," Eddie continued, "it's kinda endearing how fascinated you are with a stranger, and how much you appreciate someone you've never met."

Richie whipped his head up and looked at him. Eddie's ears were a little pink, and he was focused on his food. "But you always look so disgusted every time I talk about him."

He shrugged. "I guess it's just because I don't understand. I don't really know what you see in him."

Richie smiled. "I don't think anyone understands. It's just... unexplainable."

Eddie hummed in response. Richie finished the rest of his dinner, washed his plate, and put on some warm clothes. He grabbed his camera before leaving.

"You think you'll see him tonight?" Eddie asked, from his place on the couch.

Richie shook his head. "Oh, I'm not going Wonder Boy spying tonight. Bill spoke to one of Georgie's friend who knew where he might've gone, so we're going to check that out."

"It's dangerous to go exploring on your own, you know. You should tell the cops if you have any leads."

"Aww, Spaghetti Head, are you worried about me?"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Never mind. I hope you choke."

"You can give me something to choke on," he retorted, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Beep, beep, Richie."

"Bye, Eds, my love! I'll see you in the morning!"

"Don't call me—"

Richie slammed the door shut before he could finish.

* * *

"Really, Bill, the subway?"

Bill nodded. "A bunch of kids from Guh-Georgie's school said they'd gone eh-exploring and got drunk underground. That was the luh-last place he'd been seen."

"Bill," said Stan, calmly, "are you sure these kids were telling you the truth?"

Bill nodded firmly. "I'm sure of it. We have to check it out."

Richie and Stan exchanged a look, but didn't say anything. Bill was stubborn, and there was nothing they could do to change his mind. They just had to watch his back and make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

"Okay," said Stan, "how do we get to this tunnel?"

Bill pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of a map. "We've g-got to get off at Jackson Av-Avenue first. There's this m-manhole that leads to the tunnels."

"Well, pip pip and Tally Ho, my good fellows! We best be on our way!"

Stan rolled his eyes. "The Brit guy sucks."

"Thou hath wound me, Staniel."

Bill grabbed his arm. "Let's go, guys."

"Wait," said Richie, "are we really going without any weapons?"

"Why would we need weapons?"

"To fight bad guys, duh."

Bill sighed and grabbed a baseball bat that was leaning against his bedroom door. "H-here you go."

Stan chuckled as Richie studied it, wondering how he could protect himself from someone who would have a gun. "Don't worry, Rich, your boyfriend'll save you."

"Ah, yes, my knight in shining armour."

"More like really tight pants."

"Hey, you have to admit they make his ass look really good."

Bill ushered them out of the front door before they wasted any more time. They took the train to Jackson Avenue. The streets were surprisingly quiet for a Thursday night.

"Hey, Stan," said Richie, as the two of them followed Bill, who was looking for the manhole. "Is Eddie seeing anyone?"

Stan raised an eyebrow. "Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

"Well, he keeps sneaking out at night, and he never uses the front door. He always goes through his bedroom window."

"Oh, yeah, he used to do that when I lived with him as well. I never really paid much attention to it though. I mean, what he does isn't really my business."

"So it's not a secret relationship?"

"Why do you care so much? Are you jealous?"

Stan had meant it as a joke, but when Richie stayed uncharacteristically quiet, he turned towards him. Richie's cheeks were bright red, and he was looking down at his shoes.

"Oh my gosh, you're crushing on Eddie."

Richie shrugged. "He's cute."

"But what about the whole, "my heart belongs to Wonder Boy" thing?"

"Okay, first of all, your impression of me is terrible. And second, Wonder Boy is, well, as much as it pains me, someone I can only admire from afar."

Stan laughed. "Glad to know you've finally caught up with reality."

Richie rolled his eyes and ignored him. "Wonder Boy is like a celebrity crush. As much as I want to, I can't really have him. Eddie, on the other hand, he's a part of my life. He's.... there. Like, he's someone I can actually have a relationship with."

"Wait, are you saying you're over Wonder Boy?"

Richie shook his head. "No, why does everyone think that? I'm never getting over Wonder Boy. Like, if I were to meet him right now, I would definitely ask him out. But I need to be realistic as well. I can't be hung up on someone who'll never be mine, and miss out on what's right in front of me in the process."

"Wow, you're really serious about this."

He smiled bashfully. "I guess."

Stan squeezed his shoulder. "Why don't you ask him out?"

Richie turned his head so fast he could've got whiplash. "Are you nuts? I live with the guy! If he says no, I'll have to move out and never see him again. I have to see if he likes me first."

Stan rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Bill cut him off.

"Guys, over here!"

They ran to where Bill was crouched. "Th-this is it."

Stan studied the map and nodded. "Looks like it."

They took quick glance at their surroundings. Once they were sure they were alone, the three of them carefully lifted the cover off.

Richie stepped. "After you, my Lord."

Bill snorted and climbed down the ladder. Once he hit the ground, Stan followed. Richie went down a couple of rungs before reaching up and covering the hole.

Once all of them were on safely on the ground, they turned on their flashlights. The tunnel was long and dark, and smelled damp and moldy. Richie shivered. "Who wants to enter the belly of the beast first?"

"Richie, it's just an empty tunnel, not a dragon's lair."

"Stop making it sound so boring, Stanathan."

Bill bent down and picked up something. "Guys, look." He held up an empty can of beer.

"So," said Stan, "someone definitely came down here to drink."

The three continued down the tunnel, which eventually led them to the sewers. Stan was a little hesitant to continue, but he knew it had to be done. Bill was on a mission, Richie would do anything for him, and Stan had to make sure they didn't do anything stupid.

Bill suddenly stopped in tracks and Richie walked straight into him. "Woah, Big Bill, a little warning would be nice."

Bill ignored him and bent down to pick up a piece of cloth that was floating in the water. It was yellow, and had a little 'G' in red on it.

"This is Guh-Guh-Georgie's."

"How are you so sure?"

"It's from his j-jacket. I know, because my girlfriend Au-Audra stitched it on for him."

Bill held it to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Stan gingerly put his arm around his shoulders. "Hey, we'll find him, I promise."

A splash from behind them made them flip around. Bill shone his flashlight in the direction of the sound. "Wh-who's there?"

It was quiet for a moment before a deep, gruff voice spoke up. "You should not be down here. This area is not open to the public."

"Then why are you here?" said Stan. His voice shook a little. The voice didn't respond.

Richie stepped forward and clutched his bat tightly, holding it above his head. "Show yourself, you coward."

A figure stepped out of the shadows. He was dressed in baby blue boots with a gold border at the top, and gloves of the same shade with the same gold border. His torso was covered by skin tight cloth that was the same shade as his boots and gloves and had gold accents. He wore a gold belt and the tightest spandex Richie had ever seen. His face was covered by a mask, which had white cat-eye like shapes where his eyes should've been. Richie felt his breath being knocked out of his lungs.

_Holy fucking shit._

Stan was the one to break the silence. "Honestly, I thought you'd be taller."

Wonder Boy made a sound of discontent but didn't say anything. He seemed to be looking at Richie.

Richie always thought he'd be really smooth and flirt with him when he met Wonder Boy for the first time. Instead, he seemed to have lost his voice. He swallowed. "H-hi." His voice came out squeaky and cracked, and his cheeks turned red with embarrassment. That was the worst thing that could happen in front of his crush.

"Hi." Richie honestly hadn't expected his voice to be that deep. It sounded a little fake to him.

"You should not be down here," he repeated.

Bill stepped forward. "We-we're sorry. We-we were just looking for my bruh-brother, who went missing. His friends told me h-he'd come down here."

"You should leave it to the police."

"Th-They're not doing anything! This is just another c-case added to the pile for them. They don't care!" He took a deep breath. "Look, I found this piece of Guh-Georgie's jacket. It means he was here and something h-happened."

He held the piece out to him. Wonder Boy took it in his slim fingers. He sniffed it, but didn't say anything.

"Will you help us?" Richie's voice sounded normal this time.

Wonder Boy turned towards him. "On one condition."

"An-anything."

"You have to let me do this on my own. The three of you, go home, and I'll see what I can do." He turned to Bill. "If I find your brother, I'll bring him to you, I promise."

"How can we trust you?" Stan, who hadn't said much, finally spoke up.

"You don't have a choice."

The three men exchanged looks before Bill nodded. "Please find him," he said quietly, and Wonder Boy nodded.

"I'll try my best."

Richie really wanted to stay and help Wonder Boy on his quest. As he snuck off into the shadows, Richie stepped forward to go after him, but Stan grabbed his arm.

"You heard what he said. We've got to go home."

Richie whined. "But Stan! I'm never going to see him again! I have to go after him!"

Bill looked at him. "R-rich, if he calls off our d-deal...."

"I'll make sure he won't," he said firmly. "I promise, Bill."

Stan and Bill exchanged looks. Stan lost whatever telepathic argument they were having and sighed. "Fine. Don't do anything stupid, Trashmouth."

Richie grinned. "Can't make any promises, sugah."

He pointed his flashlight in the direction where Wonder Boy went. He barely heard Stan's whisper, "Be careful, Richie."

He took a deep breath and followed Wonder Boy into the tunnels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be a little late, ‘cause I’m going to be pretty busy the next few days. It should be up by the 7th. I’m really sorry about the delay!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


	6. Wonder Boy and Trashmouth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie grinned. "You didn't say no."
> 
> "I didn't say yes either."
> 
> "I'll take those odds."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the delay. I just wasn't having a good day yesterday and I was too tired to put this up. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it.
> 
> Also, warning for descriptions of an anxiety attack.

God bless Beverly Marsh and her decision for installing a voice modulator in Eddie's suit. He had never been more thankful for anything in his life. If he'd been speaking in his real voice, they would've definitely recognised him, and that would've been pretty awkward.

When Bev had told him that the traffic cams had picked up three people crawling into a manhole on Jackson Avenue, he never thought it'd be three of his friends. He didn't think they'd be stupid enough. He knew Bill and Richie were idiots, but he'd expected Stan to be the voice of reason. He figured if Bill was stubborn, nothing could be done to change his mind. Which is why he was a little surprised when Bill agreed to let him go on his own. But he couldn't worry about that now. He'd promised to find Georgie, and that's what he was going to do. Even if that meant literally splashing around in millions of gallons of New York's piss and shit.

He sniffed the cloth again. The sewage smell was messing with his senses. He caught a whiff of what could've been Georgie and headed in that direction.

His enhanced hearing picked up the sound of water splashing, followed by a slew of curses.

_That fucking idiot._

He turned around and walked back in the direction in which he came. Richie was on the ground, covered in sewage water. He scrunched his nose in disgust.

"I thought I told you to go home."

Richie jumped and looked up. "I couldn't let you go."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I can handle myself."

"I'm well aware of that."

"Then why are you here?"

Richie shrugged. "I have to help you."

Eddie sighed. He knew why Richie had followed him. He just wanted to spend time with Wonder Boy. He stuck his hand out, and Richie grabbed it and hoisted himself up. He straightened his glasses. "So where to, good sir?"

Eddie snorted at the impression. "Go home, Richie."

He didn't realise his slip till it was too late.

"How do you know my name?" said Richie, tilting his head to one side.

 _Shit shit shit._ He quickly thought of an excuse. "I know the names of all my super fans."

It was a lame excuse, but it was worth the look on Richie's face. His eyes lit up and he grinned broadly. "You know who I am?"

Eddie tried to play it cool. "I've heard your podcast a couple of times."

Richie squealed. "Ohmygodthisisthebestdayever!"

Eddie nodded and turned around to return to his mission. He heard Richie scrambling behind him. "You're not going to go home, are you?"

"Nope."

He sighed. "Fine. But you have to promise not to interfere."

Richie stood straight and raised his hand in mock salute. "Yes sir!"

The two went down the sewer tunnels as Eddie followed the scent. Richie stayed surprisingly quiet. He knew it was too good to be true. After a couple of minutes, the silence was broken.

"What's your favourite colour?"

Eddie rolled his eyes. Of all the questions he could ask his idol, that's what he picked. Dumbass. "Blue. If it wasn't obvious."

Richie nodded. "Makes sense."

They fell into an awkward silence, that lasted for about thirty seconds, before Richie spoke again. "Mine's, uh, mine's purple."

"That's cool."

"Yeah? You think so?"

Eddie shrugged. "Purple's a cool colour."

He grinned. "Yeah, it's almost as cool as me."

"Is that so?"

"I'm really cool, but I can totally make you feel hot and steamy, baby."

"Please don't," Eddie deadpanned.

Richie scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. I tend to make jokes when I'm nervous. Not that that was a joke! I really can make you feel-"

"Why are you nervous?"

Richie shrugged. "You're Wonder Boy, you know. You're my idol. Just being around you is enough to make my brain go into a frenzy, and the butterflies don't really help my case either."

Eddie couldn't help but smile. A part of him wondered if Richie would ever talk of him like that, if he knew who he really was. "There's no need to be nervous, you know. I'm a regular guy, just like you."

He snorted. "Yeah, a regular guy who's basically a shorter Captain America."

Eddie frowned. "Not exactly Captain America. My powers are slightly different."

"How do you have them anyway? If you don't mind me asking."

Eddie considered lying to him, but then he realised it didn't matter if he told him the truth. "I, uh, I was born with them."

"Oh, so you're like a Mutant? Can I use that word? Or will Fox have an issue?"

Eddie laughed. "I mean, you could call me a Mutant, but it's slightly different. The thing is, my dad was a scientist working for the government, and they were working on a serum to enhance normal human abilities. Well, my dad figured it out, but when he learned that they were going to weaponize it, he took it himself, and then passed the gene onto me."

"Woah! So is your dad a superhero too?"

"No, uh, he's dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I was pretty young when it happened. I'd just appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about my powers. It could be dangerous."

"Oh, yeah, sure. I'm great at keeping secrets!"

Eddie snorted. "I'm sure you are."

Richie didn't say anything after that. They were quiet for a while. Eddie could hear Richie thinking and it was driving him crazy.

"Okay, you clearly want to say something. What is it?"

"Do you want to go out on a date with me?" Richie blurted.

Eddie's face heated up and he was so glad he was wearing a mask. He ignored Bev laughing in his ear. He turned to look at Richie. His face was bright red as well.

"I-I mean, I just, there's a lot of things I want to ask you and that's why I thought if I could take you out to lunch maybe we could talk or something and I mean it doesn't have to be lunch and even if you don't want to talk we can just Netflix and chill and by chill I mean actually chill and not the dirty stuff or we can do that if you want I mean I'm game for anything really as long as—"

Eddie cut off his rambling. "I don't date civilians."

"Oh? So does that mean you only date other superheroes? That would mean there are other superheroes out there."

"No, that's not what I—"

"Or you've never dated anyone? Are you a virgin? 'Cause I can help with that," he said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Eddie resisted the urge to beep him. "But I mean, not in these tunnels, of course."

"I'm not a virgin. I just can't date civilians, okay?"

"Hey, if you're worried about your secret identity getting out, you can totally wear your suit on the date. I don't mind."

 _Of course you don't, you think it makes my ass look great._ "It's not that. Look, you can't go around saving the world without making a few enemies. If they find out about my connection with you, your life could be in danger."

"So we can just hang out in my apartment. I'll kick my roommate out, and nobody will know you're there."

Eddie smiled fondly, but obviously Richie couldn't see his expression. "How about we just make it out of here in one piece for now?"

"And then can we go on that date?"

"Let's just get this over with for now."

Richie grinned. "You didn't say no."

"I didn't say yes either."

"I'll take those odds."

They reached a sewer gate. Eddie pried the bars open so that they could squeeze through to the other side. Eddie didn't have much trouble, but Richie and his gangly limbs struggled to make it past.

"A little help please?"

Eddie raised his hand. Using one of the laser shooters in his suit, he melted the bars, giving Richie more space.

"Woah, that's so fucking cool!"

Eddie shrugged. "I have a bad ass designer."

_"Damn right you do, Kaspbrak."_

He really wanted to tell Bev to shut up. The whole time Richie had been trying to ask him out, Bev had been laughing and making kissing noises in his ear. He had half a mind to just turn his ear piece off.

"Wait," said Richie, "you don't work on your own?"

Eddie shook his head. "Even superheroes need help, you know."

"Your sidekick is the luckiest person alive."

"I wouldn't call her my sidekick, exactly. She's more like my savior, really. I'd be nothing without her."

_"Aww, Eddie! I love you too!"_

"Her? Is she your girlfriend?"

Bev laughed loudly in her ear.  _"Girlfriend? I can't even."_

"Uh, no. I-I'm gay."

"Oh. But are you single? I mean, I know I asked you out but—"

"Yeah, I am."

Eddie pretended not to notice Richie's fist pump.

Their path hit a dead end. Which was odd, since the scent was incredibly strong. It seemed to be coming directly from the wall next to him.

"Is this it?" asked Richie.

Eddie shook his head. "He's behind that wall."

_"Well, according to your tracker, you're in Neibolt Industries."_

_Neibolt? That made no sense. Unless...._

Eddie thought about Project Red Balloon. He'd heard Keene say "plucking people off the streets." Were they kidnapping kids and teens and using them as test subjects? That would also explain the thing about consent.

Eddie's head started to spin. His lungs felt tight. His breathing got heavier. He wanted to use an inhaler, and then he remembered he didn't actually have asthma. He could feel the beginning of an anxiety attack. His knees bucked. Richie caught him before he hit the ground.

"Woah, woah, woah, Wonder Boy, you okay?"

Eddie didn't say anything, he just clutched at his chest.

_"Eddie, your heart rate is spiking. Just focus on my voice, okay? Breathe in, 1, 2, 3, breathe out, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5."_

Bev took him through his breathing exercise, as Richie rubbed circles on his back. Slowly, he felt his heart beat steady and his breathing settle down. He looked up at Richie, whose eyes were wide with worry.

"What's wrong?"

Eddie shook his head. "I'm fine. Just got a little light headed, that's all."

"Okay. Do- do you know where we are?"

Eddie shook his head. He couldn't tell Richie the truth, no matter how much he wanted to. "I'll figure it out later. Let's just get out of here for now."

"But Bill-"

"I'll find your friend's brother, I promise. Just not tonight."

Richie nodded. He helped Eddie up, and the two of them headed out the same way they came. Neither said a word. Eddie was too busy running all the information in his head. He was convinced all these disappearances had to do with Project Red Balloon, but he didn't know what that Project was. He had to find out.

Once they were out on the street, he turned to Richie. "Tell your friend I'm really sorry I didn't find his brother."

Richie nodded. "Well, uh, this was fun! We should do it again sometime."

Eddie laughed. "Oh yeah, definitely."

"What? We could be Wonder Boy and Trashmouth, the Unstoppable Duo."

"You should go home, Richie. I'm sure your roommate is worried about you."

"Nah, he doesn't care. Besides, if I tell him I'm with Wonder Boy, he'll understand."

"Well, I need to go. So, uh, bye!"

Eddie quickly jumped onto the roof of a convenience store.

"Wait!"

He turned around. Richie was staring at him intently. "Will I ever see you again?"

Eddie smiled softly. "You never know."

With that, he left Richie standing on the street like a love struck idiot. Once he was far away, he decided to contact Bev.

"Beverly, are you there?"

_"Yeah, I'm here."_

"I think I know why we were at Neibolt Industries."

_"Care to fill me in?"_

"So, the other day, I overheard my supervisor and my boss discussing something called Project Red Balloon. I don't really know what it's about, apart from the fact that it has something to do with drugs and fear."

_"But what does that have to do with Bill's brother?"_

"I-I think they're kidnapping people and using them as test subjects. I think all these missing people are there."

He could hear Bev's breathing get heavier.  _"Oh my god, Eddie, what are we going to do? Should we tell the police?"_

"No, not yet. We still don't know what's going on. We can't do anything until we get more information."

_"And how will do that?"_

"I have an idea, but I'm going to need your help."

_"I'm in. Just tell me what to do."_

"Can you swing by my workplace tomorrow? I'm going to require your special skill set for this."

He could hear Bev's grin.  _"Finally get to put all those online classes I took on the dark web to good use."_

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Bev. Even if we have to break a few rules to do it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


	7. Spandex-wearing, crime fighting motherfucker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "This has got to be the best day of my entire fucking life. God, I’m so glad I decided to move to New York.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not happy with this chapter at all, it sucks
> 
> i'm sorry i've been terrible at replying to comments, especially to ones on the previous chapter  
> i've not been in the mood lately  
> i just want everyone to know that i really love and appreciate all your comments, it really keeps me going, so thank you

Richie had no idea how long he spent on the street, watching Wonder Boy leap from building to building. He was sure he looked like a lovesick fool. His heart was beating out of his chest. He couldn’t believe it. He’d just roamed the sewers of New York with his idol. His brain still hadn’t processed it fully.

_Holy shit fuck I just hung out Wonder Boy and we made contact like he pulled me up and I held him when he freaked out and he thinks my favourite colour is cool and I know how he got his powers though he told me to keep it a secret and I asked him out on a date and he didn’t say no and he’s gay and single and he knows who I am and he listens to my podcast and his suit is so cool and oh my god holy shit holy shit holy shit_

That was basically what was going on in his brain the whole way home. As headed up to his apartment, he realised Eddie was the first person he wanted to tell. He couldn’t wait to wake him up and tell him everything. He quickly unlocked the door and rushed into his apartment.

“Eds! Eddie! Eddie Spaghetti! Spaghetti Man! Edwardo! Eddie-bear! Ed—”

He stopped short when he opened his bedroom door just to find Eddie’s bed empty. His heart fell. Of course Eddie would be with his secret lover. He didn’t know why he had hoped otherwise. He didn’t let it bother him though. He could tell him everything in the morning. Instead, he called Bill, who picked up after the first ring.

_“R-Richie! Did you find Guh-Georgie?”_

“Uh, no Billiam. But Wonder Boy said he’ll track his location.”

 _“Oh.”_  Richie could hear his heart break through the phone.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, if anyone can find him, it’s Wonder Boy.”

_“I h-hope so.”_

“Look, why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

_“Okay. G'night Rich.”_

“‘Night, Bill.”

He cut the call and flopped down on his bed. He was way too high on dopamine to go to bed. He was bursting with excitement, and he just had to tell somebody. So he decided to film an episode for his podcast.

_“Hey fuckers, and welcome to Trashmouth Talks. This is a special episode, and I’ve got some incredible information to share with you guys. You’re not going to believe who I met today. Not Oprah, but someone just as great. Yeah bitches, I met Wonder Boy. I met that spandex-wearing, crime fighting mother fucker. And let me tell you shits, he’s fucking just as amazing in real life. He’s so fucking short it’s adorable. Kinda like my roommate now that I think about it. His ass is literally out of this world. That spandex makes it look so pert and firm, I just wanna know how it’ll feel in my hands. And his suit is super rad. He told me his designer’s this really badass chick, and without her, he’d be nothing. Personally, I don’t think that’s true. He’d be just as amazing and perfect. His voice is a little strange, like it doesn’t belong to him, but man, what I wouldn’t give to hear him moan my name with it. I asked him out, you know. He never said no, and that counts as a win in my book. Damn, I wonder if the next time we meet he’ll agree to let me take him home. I just wanna make him feel good. And another thing you guys aren’t going to believe! He knows my fucking name! He knows who I am! He said he knows all his superfans, and I’m pretty sure I’m his biggest fan out there. And he listens to this podcast! Well, he said he’s heard a couple of episodes. God, I hope they aren’t the ones where I’ve some embarrassing shit. Oh wait. That’s every episode. Anyway, who cares? I met Wonder freaking Boy. This has got to be the best day of my entire fucking life. God, I’m so glad I decided to move to New York.”_

* * *

Eddie decided it would be best if he avoided Richie, because he knew all Richie would want to talk about would be his interaction with Wonder Boy. It’s not that Eddie couldn’t handle his fangirling, he was just afraid he’d slip up and reveal something. Besides, his mind was too preoccupied with the whole Project Red Balloon fiasco. It was chewing him up. He had to get to the bottom of it, and he couldn’t afford any distractions.

He spent the night at Ben and Bev’s apartment, tossing and turning instead of sleeping. He dreamed about the missing kids and the horrors they were going through. He dreamed about Bill being upset with him for not bringing Georgie home. He dreamed about Richie finding his real identity and being disgusted and hating him forever. He dreamed about failing his city, and letting the villains win.

“Rough night?” asked Mike, as they changed into their lab clothes.

Eddie nodded. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Bad dreams, that’s all.”

Eddie groaned when he saw what they had to do for the day. “More blood tests?”

Mike chuckled. “Hey, that’s what you get for working in the histopathology department.”

Eddie sighed. He just had to make it to lunch. Bev would swing by then, and they’d both go digging for information. He had to get her into Keene’s office, and she’d handle the rest. He just had to figure out how he’d do that.

Mike and Eddie began working on their blood samples. It was the same, monotonous routine that Eddie could perform in his sleep. He supposed that was a good thing, given his thoughts were elsewhere. He mechanically did what he had to, while his mind was focused on a completely different topic.

“Uh, Eddie?”

Eddie was snapped out of his thoughts by his friend. “What’s up?”

Mike was looking at the label of the sample in his hand. “This is Georgie Denbrough’s blood.”

“What?!”

“Yeah. Look.” Mike showed him the label, and sure enough, it said:

**#27638**  
**NAME : Denbrough, G.**  
**SEX: M**  
**AGE: 16**

_Oh shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. They got Georgie! Is he still alive? What have they done to him? What if he’s one of the insane ones? Or worse? What if I’m too late? What if he’s already dead? What if what if what if what if what if—_

“Eddie, you okay?”

Eddie shook his head. “Analyse the sample. And do a thorough screening, not just the usual.”

“Why?”

“I have a hunch. Just do it Mikey.”

Mike went to the bigger centrifuge at the back to perform a more detailed analysis. It would take a couple of hours till the results were ready, and Eddie was anxious. If Georgie was being tested upon, they didn’t have a lot of time left.

Once Mike was done, he showed Eddie the results. Everything seemed normal, except the high levels of adrenaline in his blood, and trace amounts of LSD.

“Why does he have LSD in his system?” asked Mike. “I mean, I know he’s a teenager, but it’s not that easy to come by.”

Eddie chewed his nail nervously. He hated that his theory was right. “I may have an idea.”

Mike raised an eyebrow. “Eddie, what do you know?”

Eddie looked around them, grabbed Mike’s arm and dragged him into a broom closet.

“Eddie, what the fuck!”

“Shhh! Look, remember Project Red Balloon?”

“Uh, yeah. It has something to do with fear or whatever.”

“Yeah, well, I think it involves giving patients hallucinogens and then testing their fight or flight response.”

“But that information is common knowledge. Why would they need a special project for that?”

“I don’t know. I think they’re trying to create a drug that enhances that response. Think about it. Imagine being faced with your biggest fear. And then imagine a drug that ensures a fight response.”

“Or, a drug that induces hallucinations of your biggest fear and then makes you so paranoid that it completely consumes you. Like, feeding off the fear.”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah, something like that. It could be weaponised and used in biological warfare.”

Mike scratched his neck. “But it still doesn’t explain why Georgie Denbrough’s blood— oh my god.” His eyes went wide as the realisation hit him. “Do you think they’re testing on these missing kids?”

Eddie nodded slowly. “I-I heard Keene and Mr. Gray talking about picking people of the streets, and testing on subjects without their consent.”

“Holy shit, this is crazy!”

“I know, Mike. It’s some illegal shit, but they’re still doing it.”

“Eddie, we have to tell the cops!”

“Tell them what? Our theory? It’s purely based off circumstance. The only thing they can actually look into is Georgie’s blood. Will that be enough for a warrant?”

“It should be. But we should still dig up some more.”

Eddie hesitated. He trusted Mike. He could tell him his plan. “So you remember my friend, Bev, right?”

Mike nodded.

“Well, she’s basically a tech wiz, and can hack pretty much anything. I can ask her to swing by and hack into Keene’s computer. I’ll just need a distraction to get her into the office.

Mike smiled. "I can help with that.”

So the plan was set. Bev came by at lunch time, and Eddie snuck her onto their floor. Mike was to provide the distraction. He was going to “accidentally” spill food on him, and then offer him his extra shirt, which he didn’t really have. So Keene would be stuck in the locker room with no clothes to wear. That gave them about twenty minutes to gather whatever information they could.

“Oh, Dr. Keene! I am so so sorry, I really didn’t see you there. I have an extra shirt in my locker, please let me make it up to you.”

That was their cue. As soon as Mike and Keene disappeared from the corridor, Bev and Eddie rushed into his office.

“Okay, Bev, what do you need?”

“Just be quiet.”

Bev plugged in her laptop to Keene’s desktop and began furiously typing away. Eddie knew it was best not to disturb Bev when she was in her zone, so he admired her from afar. The way her slim fingers moved along the keys and the way her eyebrows scrunched up when she was focusing was fascinating. He was in awe of his best friend.

“Bingo!”

“What’ve you got?” he asked, standing behind her and peering over her shoulder. She typed something on the desktop, and soon they were greeted by the home page.

“The file is probably encrypted, so finding it is going to be hard.”

“Can you do it?”

Bev snorted. “Can birds fly?”

“Well, there are some that can’t, you’ll have to ask Stan.”

She flipped him off. “Screw you.” After typing some more gibberish, a file popped up on the screen.

**Project Red Balloon**

“There we go.” She clicked on it. Within the folder, there were a bunch of files. She clicked on the first one that said 'Formula’.

It was an Excel sheet different chemicals and their reactions. Each combination of compounds had a different set of observations along it. Most of them had been crossed out. Eddie studied the last entry. It was basically a combination of LSD with other hallucinogens, the observation next to it was blank. That must’ve been the one they were currently testing.

They opened another file, which seemed to be a dossier. Some of the names looked familiar, like he’d heard them on the news or something.

“Oh my god,” whispered Bev, “these are the names of the missing people.”

Some of the names had been cancelled. Eddie gulped. “Are the crossed out ones….”

Bev scrolled down further. The second to last name was someone they knew.

“Georgie’s name hasn’t been crossed out.”

“Yet.”

Bev spun around to face him. “Do you think he’s in danger?”

“Definitely. We have to get these kids out of here as soon as possible.”

Bev plugged in her flash drive and installed all the files in the folder. “This is going to take a while.”

Eddie checked the time. “Lunch ends in five.”

Bev ran her fingers through her hair. “Eddie, this is crazy. What are we going to do?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “God, Bev, I don’t fucking know! I don’t have all the answers!”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. “You aren’t expected to know everything.”

He sighed and slumped down on the floor. “Are you sure about that? Because… it just seems like I’m expected to do everything. Everyone just relies on Wonder Boy to save the day. Hell, I couldn’t even find Georgie, and now he’s a fucking lab rat! It’s all my fault.” Tears were pouring down his cheeks.

“Sweetie, none of this is your fault. And you’re not alone in this, okay? Ben and I, we’re going to help you. And I’m sure Mike and Bill won’t let you do this on your own either. You’ve got to start having faith in other people as well.”

He wiped his face. “Yeah, you’re right. We’ve got to do this together.”

Bev wrapped her arms around arms. “Don’t ever feel like you’re alone, okay?” she murmured in his ear. “No man or woman is capable of carrying the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. You’ve got to share the load with the rest of us.”

She was right. Eddie couldn’t do this on  this own, no matter what. He needed other people. But there was only one problem with that. Dragging others in could put them in danger, and he didn’t want to risk that. However, that was something he’d have to deal with later. Right now, all of them had to work together to figure out just exactly what was going on and how they could stop it.

“Has it finished downloading?”

Bev looked over to the desktop. “No, there’s still—”

Whatever she was going to say was cut short by the door slamming open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if you can tell but i have no idea how podcasts work (you can definitely tell)


	8. Old Spice, cigarettes, Wrigley's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Is that your boyfriend?" He was definitely talking about Richie.
> 
> "Uh, no. We're just roommates."
> 
> He hummed. "It seems like you're a lot closer though. He's very protective of you."
> 
> "I've never noticed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another boring but plot relevant chapter

Mike stood at the door, panting.

"Mikey, what's wrong?"

"We have to go. Now."

"But it's not done!" said Bev.

"I don't care. Keene knows something's up, and he's on his way."

"Oh shit, shit, shit! Bev, unplug the flash drive now!"

"But—"

"It doesn't matter! We'll work with whatever information we have."

She sighed and unplugged her flash drive. She quickly stuffed it into her bag along with her laptop. The three of them stumbled out of the office just as Keene was rounding the corner. They ran in the opposite direction before he saw them.

Once they were far enough, Eddie leaned against the wall, as Bev and Mike caught their breaths.

"So, what did you guys find out?"

Bev and Eddie shared a look. They had to tell Mike the truth, he was just as involved as them.

"We- we found a bunch of formulas," said Bev. "They're probably testing different combinations and seeing whatever works best."

"Works best for what, though?"

"We still don't know. We couldn't go through all the files, it's probably there somewhere."

"We also found a list of names of the missing people," added Eddie, "and some of them were crossed out. We don't know what it means though."

"Oh crap, Eddie. That means your theory was right."

He sighed. "I'm afraid so."

"So, what do we do now?"

Mike shrugged. "I say we call the cops. Tell them what we know."

"We can't tell them about the flash drive. The first thing they'll ask is how we got that information, and we definitely can't tell them that Bev hacked into Keene's computer."

"But we can tell them about Georgie's blood," she said. "It's worth a shot."

Eddie rubbed his face. There was no way he was going to win this argument. "Alright, let's do that."

Mike took out his phone and dialed the number.

_"911. How may I help you?"_

"I have information on a missing persons case."

_"Please give me your name."_

They exchanged looks. It was better if they remained anonymous.

"I'd like to remain anonymous, if that's alright."

_"Alright, sir. Could you please give me the details of the case?"_

"George Denbrough, age 16. He went missing a few days ago. I, uh, I work at Neibolt Industries, and one of the blood samples I tested today was his." He looked at Eddie and mouthed,  _'Should I say anything else?'_ Eddie shook his head. That would be enough for them to start an investigation, if not get a warrant.

"I just thought I should let someone know."

_"Of course. Thank you sir. Do you have any other piece of information?"_

"Uh, no. That's it."

_"Alright. Thank you."_

He cut the call and let go of his breath. "So, what now?"

"Now we wait."

* * *

 

A couple of hours later, cops burst into the labs. Keene walked up to the head Detective.

"Avarino."

"Keene."

So they knew each other. From the looks of it, they weren't the best of friends.

"How's your son?"

"Cut the bullshit, Keene. I'm not in the mood for pleasantries."

"Why are you here?"

"We have a warrant to search the premises," said the Detective, pulling out a folded sheet of paper.

"On what grounds?"

"We have reason to believe that a missing person may be here."

A look of fear passed Keene's face, but he brushed it off quickly and wore his signature scowl. "And why is that?"

"We received an anonymous tip."

"That's not enough for a warrant."

"It is, when Neibolt Industries has already been of interest in several ongoing investigations and lawsuits."

Eddie's eyebrows shot up at that.  _So Neibolt isn't as clean as the science journals make it seem? How did I not know that?_

Keene sighed and stepped to the side. "Take a look around, Detective. But like always, you're not going to find anything."

Suddenly, the smoke alarms started blaring and the sprinklers went off.

"What the fuck!" Mike yelled from next to him.

The detective yelled at the top of his lungs. "EVERYBODY STAY CALM! JUST FOLLOW THE PROTOCOL FOR FOR FIRE HAZARDS, AND HEAD TO THE NEAREST FIRE EXIT!"

He grabbed Keene's collar and whispered so softly that Eddie barely caught it. "Look, I don't know what games you're playing here, but I'm going to get you this time."

Keene grinned cunningly. "You should stay in your lane, Avarino. Don't meddle with things you don't understand."

That's all Eddie heard before he was pushed along with the crowd to the fire exit. He made a mental note to ask Ben to check all police records for Bob Gray and Neibolt Industries.

"Hey, you okay?" Mike's calm voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Isn't it super convenient how the fire alarm goes off just as the cops arrive to search the building?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, its super fishy."

They exited the building and moved to the assembly point. He looked up, and sure enough, there was no smoke. Someone had definitely pulled the alarm on purpose.

"Eddie!" He snapped his head to see Richie, of all people, running towards him, with Bill following behind.

"Richie?"

Richie pulled Eddie into a bone-crushing hug. Eddie was startled for a second, but then wrapped his arms around his neck as he felt Richie's arms snake around his waist.

"Thank god you're fine," he murmured, setting his chin on his head.

"I'm okay, Rich," Eddie whispered against his neck. He smelled like Old Spice, cigarettes, Wrigley's, and something distinctly Richie.

Richie pulled back to look at him. They were so close that Eddie could count every single one of his freckles. He could see the flecks of hazel in his chocolate brown eyes. All he had to do was move a few inches, and their lips would be touching.

"I heard the smoke detectors go off and I got so worried." He could feel Richie's warm breath on his face, and it sent shivers down his spine.

"It's fine," he whispered softly, running his fingers through Richie's curls, "it was a false alarm."

"Thank fuck."

A voice behind them cleared their throat. They moved out of their embrace, but Richie kept his arm around his shoulder, and Eddie leaned into his touch.

"I hate to break the reunion, but what are you guys doing here?" said Mike.

"W-we heard that the cops were coming here," said Bill, "and our boss sent us to cover it."

"And instead we got a a fire scare," Richie snorted. "You two happen to know what's going on?"

Mike looked at Eddie and hesitated. Richie seemed to notice this.

"Eds, what's wrong?"

Eddie didn't give him shit for the nickname this time. Instead, he focused on the voice in his head, which sounded oddly like Beverly's.  _Bill deserves to know._

"We have information about—"

"Mr. Kaspbrak?"

Eddie spun around to see none other that his boss, Mr. Bob Gray, standing in a three piece suit, with his hands behind his back.

"Mr. Gray! You- uh, you know who I am?"

He laughed. It was a throaty laugh that didn't sound friendly at all. "Of course I do. I make it a job to know all my employees, especially the exemplary ones."

"Oh."

"Let's take a walk, Mr. Kaspbrak." Something in his tone made him realise it wasn't an offer, but an order.

"Sure, sir."

He felt Richie's arm tighten around his shoulders. He looked up to give him a reassuring smile. It didn't wipe the frown off his face, but he let him go without any protests.

They were out of earshot before Mr. Gray spoke again.

"Is that your boyfriend?" He was definitely talking about Richie.

"Uh, no. We're just roommates."

He hummed. "It seems like you're a lot closer though. He's very protective of you."

"I've never noticed."

"But he doesn't need to worry," he chuckled, and just like the laugh, it wasn't friendly. "I'm not going to eat you up. I just wanted to talk."

Something about the whole situation was unsettling. They were all alone, in a garden, with not proper escape route in sight. Eddie mentally braced himself to be prepared for a fight. "Talk about what, sir?"

"Do you know why I named the company Neibolt, Eddie?"

Eddie shivered. He didn't like the way he said his name. "No sir, I'm afraid I don't."

"Well, no worries. Neibolt was the name of the street I grew up on. It was in a quieter part of town. I really enjoyed the peace and silence, away from all the bustling civilisation and the hubbub of the city. Do you know the feeling, Eddie?"

"Sort of. I mean, I grew up in a small town before I moved to New York, so I know what you mean. But I can't say I miss it though."

"Well, your father loved it."

Eddie stopped in his tracks. "You knew my father?"

Mr. Gray smiled fondly, like he was thinking of an old friend. It didn't make him look any less creepy. "Your father and I went way back. We knew each other since middle school. He would bike to my part of town, and cycle down my street almost every evening. I'd watch him from my window. I wanted to talk to him, but he was one of those popular kids, and I was, for the lack of a better term, a loser."

Eddie could relate. He and Ben were losers in school, Ben being the fat kid and he the girly boy, picked on for his sexuality. He'd always wondered if his father was like him when he was younger, and now he knew that wasn't true. "How- how did you become friends?"

"One day, while he was biking down my street, he fell and scraped his knees. I took him in and patched him up. We were best friends ever since.

"We drifted apart after high school, but we reunited again when we were both recruited to work for the government. He was a phenomenal scientist, you know. One of the most brilliant minds of our generation. If only he'd minded his own business."

"What do you mean?"

"Frank got involved in a project that was potentially dangerous. He got into the wrong books of some very important people, and it cost him his job. It would definitely be a shame if the same thing were to happen to you."

Eddie turned to look Mr. Gray straight in the eyes. They were calm, but had a layer of threat under them. "What are you insinuating, sir?"

"Frank was always the curious one. I know you have that in you as well. While I admire it, I know how dangerous it can be, poking your nose in things where it doesn't belong. You wouldn't want to suffer the same fate now, would you?"

"Mr. Gray, are you threatening me?"

He grinned. "Quite the contrary, my dear. I'm just looking out for you. There are somethings that we don't understand, and it's best to leave them alone instead of trying to investigate. In such cases, there is always a higher power involved, and they do not appreciate any meddling. It's in your best interest that I'm telling you this. Frank never understood that, but I hope you do."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me, Mr. Gray," said Eddie, coolly. "I prefer staying in my lane."

"Well, I'm glad. Now, you must be off, I'm sure Dr. Keene won't appreciate me keeping his star scientist occupied the entire afternoon. Oh, and Eddie, why don't you take the next  couple of days off? I've looked at your records and performance reviews. You haven't skipped a day of work since you joined, and your performance here has been nothing short of excellent. You deserve a break."

Eddie let out a sigh of relief. He was a little suspicious as to why he was getting time off, but he could use it to investigate further. "Thank you, Mr. Gray."

"Of course, anything for Frank Kaspbrak's son."

Mr. Gray leaned forward and pulled Eddie into a hug. It made him uncomfortable, but he returned it.

After a few seconds, he let go. He gave his boss a small smile before turning around and heading to the lab, completely unaware of the bug that had been slipped into his pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promise y'all will love the next one ;)


	9. They don't call me Trashmouth for nothin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie rolled his eyes. "There's the Richie Tozier I know and hate."
> 
> "Oh please, you love me." He grinned.
> 
> "I wonder what gave you that notion."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: NSFW  
> this chapter got really smutty so i had to change the rating
> 
> enjoy this before everything goes to shit ;)))

The frown on his face didn't disappear even after Eddie and his boss were out of sight. In fact, it only deepened once he saw how uneasy Mike looked.

"I don't like your boss," said Richie, "he gives off weird vibes. Like, he's the kind of guy who'd dress up as a clown and lure kids to his underground lair and eat them."

Mike raised his eyebrow. "That's some Stephen King level shit right there."

"Wuh-What was Eddie going to say," asked Bill, "before he was dragged away?"

Mike looked around them, then grabbed their arms and took them to a more secluded area.

"We found some information about Georgie and the other missing kids," said Mike, "and you're not going to like it."

Mike filled them up on everything. He told them about Georgie's blood, Project Red Balloon, and the information Bev had got from Keene's desktop. To be honest, Richie was only half-listening. His mind kept going back to Eddie. He was convinced Bob Gray was going to murder him.

"So, Guh-Guh-Guh-Georgie...." Bill clenched his fists tightly.

"Hey," said Mike, pulling him into a hug, "he's most likely alive for now."

"But for how long? We're running out of time!"

"Look, the cops are searching the building now," said Richie, "they'll find something. I'm sure of it."

Richie was wrong. From what they'd gathered, the cops had found nothing. It was like everything had been wiped clean. The only thing they had was Georgie's blood sample, that Mike had not thrown away. But that wasn't enough for them to make any arrests.

Richie saw Eddie head back towards the building, but he couldn't talk to him as he had been dragged off by security. He saw that Eddie looked shaken up, and all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around him and punch Bob Gray in the face for whatever he did to Eddie. But right now, he had to get back to work.

As soon as he was off work, he raced home. Eddie's shift would have been over, and he'd hopefully be at the apartment (unless he was with his secret lover, but Richie tried not to dwell on that thought). He slammed the door open, and sure enough, Eddie was curled up on the couch staring blankly at the wall. He didn't even flinch at the sound.

"Eddie? You okay?"

Eddie sighed and rubbed his face. "No, not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He chewed his lip nervously. "Not particularly."

"Do you want a hug?"

Eddie smiled softly. Instead of replying, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Richie's torso. Richie automatically carded his fingered through his soft waves, and placed a gentle kiss on his head.

"It's just so much, you know," Eddie mumbled into Richie's shirt. "This whole Project Red Balloon thing. I feel so helpless."

"It's not your responsibility, you know. You can leave it to the police. It is their job, after all."

"But they've hit a roadblock as well. At least Bev still has the files from Keene's computer. If we can find something in them—"

"Hey, stop," said Richie, calmly. "You're thinking too much about this. You've done more that enough for today. You need a break."

"But we don't have enough time!" He looked up at Richie with tear-brimmed eyes. "Georgie doesn't have enough time!"

"We don't know that." Richie brushed some of his hair out his eyes and rubbed his cheek with his thumb. "And we have no way of knowing either. So worrying about it is not going to do us any good, is it? You should let loose, you've got too much stress pent up inside you." Suddenly he got an idea. "Let's do something tonight."

Eddie looked up at him. "Like what?"

"Let's go out. Let's get drunk. You need to take your mind off this."

Eddie shook his head. "No way. We have a lot to do."

"Please Eds—"

"Don't call me that."

"—it's just one night! And tomorrow we can get to work, okay? I promise. You need this."

Eddie looked like he was considering it, but Richie was sure he'd say no. Finally, he sighed. "Fine."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." He got up and pulled Richie along with him. "Let's go before I change my mind."

* * *

One hour and two drinks later, they were both seated at the bar in a crowded nightclub, Eddie laughing at something stupid Richie had said. They were both fairly buzzed, but not completely drunk.

"—and so, now my boss hates me, and I'll probably get fired soon."

Eddie giggled. It was music to Richie's ears. "I can't believe you made a joke about your boss jacking off, in front of him. Actually, no, I can, now that I think about it."

"Well, they don't call me Trashmouth for nothin', ya know."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I bet they call you Trashmouth for a lot of reasons." His eyes went wide when he realised what he'd said.

Richie wiggled his eyebrows. "I can show ya if ya want, dahling."

He groaned. "I set that up, didn't I?"

He smirked. "The offer was serious though."

Eddie's cheeks turned pink, and Richie thought it was the cutest thing ever. "Beep, beep, Richie," he murmured, looking down at his drink.

Richie decided to change the topic. "So, did I tell you? I met Wonder Boy!"

Eddie looked at him, surprised. "Really? When?"

"Last night, when we were looking for Georgie. He helped us!"

"How was it? Meeting him, I mean."

Richie sighed and clutched his chest. "It was perfect, Eds. He's perfect. He's so cute and kind and badass and amazing and just, ugh! He's everything."

Eddie smiled at him fondly. "You really love him, don't you?"

"Well, I mean, like how anyone loves a celebrity crush, I guess. I mean, he's way out of my league." He chuckled. "I should probably lower my standards, huh?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "Is this you being realistic?"

"I guess. I just.... lately, there's been someone else on my mind."

He didn't notice how Eddie's face fell because he was too busy mentally scolding himself for being such a dumbass. He literally just pulled that middle school move of mentioning your crush in front of your crush, to see if they like you back. He'd stooped down to that level.

"Who?"

Richie's ears turned red. "Uh, just this guy I know."

"Is it Bill?"

He almost spat out his drink at that. "Bill? Really?"

Eddie shrugged. "You do call him Big Bill, you know."

Richie burst out laughing. "That's just a nickname, like Eds. I doesn't mean anything. I mean, sure, he's gorgeous, but he's not really my type."

Richie didn't know if he was imagining it, but Eddie seemed to shift a little closer to him. "What is your type?" he asked softly.

_Short. Brown hair. Big doe eyes. Freckles. Adorable, sassy, tiny ball of rage. Absolute perfection. You._

"I don't know, exactly. I just know it's not Bill."

Eddie hummed and licked his lips. Richie tried his hardest not to stare at the way his pink tongue darted out and swiped over his lips. The tension was too much. He had to diffuse it somehow.

"Your mom definitely fits the profile though."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "There's the Richie Tozier I know and hate."

"Oh please, you love me." He grinned.

"I wonder what gave you that notion."

"Come on, baby, I know you wanna get a load of this." He gestured to his body with one hand.

Eddie snorted. "In your dreams, Trashmouth."

"You mean, in  _your_ dreams."

Eddie looked at him through hooded eyes. He hollowed his cheeks around his straw and took a long gulp. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Richie's dick twitched in his pants and he threw his head back and downed the rest of his drink. He licked his lips and watched how Eddie's eyes followed the movements of his tongue. "Perhaps I would."

The air between them was charged and now there was no ignoring it anymore. If neither of them made a move in approximately three seconds, Richie would combust.

Thankfully for him, Eddie leaned over and grabbed his hands, setting them low on his hips. He placed a soft kiss to the shell off his ear.

"Damn, Kaspbrak," Richie murmured, "are you trying to kill me?"

Eddie smirked in response. "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

Richie rolled his eyes. He put one hand on his lower back, just above the curve of his ass, and pulled him so that they were chest to chest. Eddie fit perfectly in the gap between his legs. He nuzzled his nose into the crook of Richie's neck.  
Richie sighed softly.

"Eddie..."

He tilted his head and whispered in Richie's ear, "We should go home."

Richie didn't need to be told twice. Eddie closed their tab at the bar while Richie called for an Uber. Once they were in the car, Richie wrapped one arm around his shoulder while the other settled at his waist, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing circles on the skin that was exposed. He wanted to touch Eddie everywhere, but he knew his boundaries, and wasn't going to do anything without permission.

Eddie snuggled into his chest and sighed. His fingers clutched at his collar. Neither of them spoke. Richie desperately wanted to say something, but he was too scared of ruining the mood. So he settled on singing a tune under his breath.

He felt Eddie smile against his chest. "You're singing Africa by Toto, of all the songs in the world?"

"Hey, it's an iconic love song, okay?"

"You sound great. You should sing more often."

Richie smiled bashfully. "I'm not that great."

Eddie looked up at him and smiled fondly. "You're amazing Richie, really."

Richie kissed his temple. "No, sweetheart, that's you."

Soon, they reached their apartment. It took Richie everything not to just pin Eddie against the wall and kiss him to death. He didn't even know if that was what Eddie wanted.

Once they were inside, Eddie spun around and wrapped his arms around his neck. He stood on his toes and brushed his lips lightly against Richie's.

"Is this okay?"

"It's more than okay, Eds."

Eddie leaned forward slightly and pushed their lips together. Eddie's lips were soft and smooth, and tasted like cherries. The kiss lasted barely a second before Eddie pulled back, and giggled when Richie chased after him.

Richie whined. "Is that all I'm going to get?"

Eddie rolled his eyes fondly and yanked him down. "Come here, you big baby."

This kiss was a lot more intense than the previous one. It was hard and passionate. Richie swiped his tongue across Eddie's lower lip, asking for permission. Eddie complied by opening his mouth, and Richie's tongue licked inside hungrily. Eddie let out a soft groan and bit onto Richie's lip. His fingers found themselves in Richie's hair and he tugged lightly. Richie let out a throaty moan, and that just made Eddie tug harder.

Richie tilted his head back and moaned loudly. "Fuck, Eddie."

Eddie left a trail of kisses along his jaw and down his neck. He sucked on the skin, turning it purple. Richie shivered.

"Eds, baby, you're so good."

Eddie smirked against his neck. He leaned up to kiss Richie's plump lips once more.

"Bedroom," he murmured against Richie's lips. Richie grabbed his ass and hoisted him up. Eddie wrapped his legs around Richie's waist, and he carried him to his bedroom, not breaking the kiss once.

Richie set him down on the bed gently, and hovered above him to admire the beauty that is Eddie Kaspbrak. His lips were parted, red and swollen, and his cheeks were flushed.

"Gosh, Eds, you're fucking perfect."

"More perfect than Wonder Boy?" he asked, cheekily.

"Yeah, definitely. No one's as beautiful as you."

Eddie's face turned bright pink. "Shut up, Richie."

"I'm serious." He pecked his lips. "Every." Kiss. "Inch." Kiss. "Of you." Kiss. "Is perfect." Kiss. "I mean it's not a lot, but what's there is perfect."

Eddie scowled and shoved him. "You suck."

Richie smirked. "And I'm really good at it, let me show you."

He expected Eddie to scoff and push him away, instead he leaned forward and captured his lips again. He shoved his jacket off his shoulders and tugged at his t-shirt.

"Take this off," Eddie murmured.

Richie obeyed and slid his t-shirt off in one swift motion, leaving him shirtless above Eddie. He heard Eddie suck in his breath, and he ran his eyes over Richie's lanky body.

"It's not much, I know."

Eddie shook his head. "It's everything I want." He placed a soft kiss against Richie's neck, before tugging his own sweater off. Richie studied Eddie's body. He was surprisingly very well toned. He traced the light outline of his abs, and the soft trail of hair that disappeared into his pants. It was then that he noticed faint bruises on his ribs. He was instantly reminded of the secret lover.

"Where did you get these?" he asked, dragging his index finger along one of the bruises. He felt Eddie tense under him.

"Uh, kickboxing class."

"I didn't know you took up kickboxing."

"Yeah, I joined a couple of weeks ago with Bev."

Richie hummed. He knew Eddie was lying, but he couldn't force it out of him. Instead, he leaned down and kissed Eddie deeply. He moved his lips to his neck, sucking and blowing and leaving dark purple bruises on the way. He moved down to his chest, and took one of his nipples into his mouth. Eddie was a writhing mess under him, letting out soft and broken moans.

He moved his mouth lower until it was right above Eddie's waistband. He tugged on the belt loops and looked up at Eddie. His eyes were dark and full of lust. He nodded quickly.

Richie shook his head. "Use your words, baby. Tell me what you want."

"Richie..." he squirmed. "You said you'd show me what that mouth of yours can do."

Richie grinned smugly. "Well, aren't you demanding?"

Eddie groaned. "Richie, please!" He bucked his hips upwards.

Richie undid the button and zipper, and pulled Eddie's jeans and boxers down together. Eddie's hard cock sprung out and rested against his stomach. Richie moaned at the sight. "God, baby. You're so hard for me."

Eddie whined. "Rich, please. I need your mouth on me!"

He leaned forward and took the tip of Eddie's length into his mouth, tasting the precum. Eddie let out a loud moan as Richie moved his mouth further down, till it was hitting the back of his throat. Richie couldn't think anymore, since all the blood in his body had gone down to one place. He was so painfully hard, and undid his jeans to give himself some relief.

He bobbed his head along Eddie's dick, licking the head and revelling in the sounds it produced from his mouth. Eddie was so loud, he was sure they'd get a complain from the neighbours soon. 

He felt Eddie trembling, and he knew he was close. Eddie shoved him off, and swatted his hand away when he tried to touch him.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't want to come just yet."

"Baby, what do you want?"

"I want you to fuck me."

And who was Richie to deny him what he wanted?

He shook off his jeans and boxers, and grabbed the lube and condoms from his bedside table. He coated three of his fingers, and rubbed one against Eddie's hole.

Eddie whined and pushed against his hand. "In."

Slowly, Richie slid one finger in, and Eddie moaned loudly. He began thrusting his finger slowly, and once Eddie told him, he added a second finger and began scissoring them. He added a third finger and curled them, opening Eddie up for him. Eddie pushed onto his fingers, gasping and moaning and muttering explicitives. His own dick needed attention, but he had to take care of Eddie first.

Eddie whimpered. "Rich, I'm ready."

Richie removed his fingers and tore open the condom packet. He stroked himself a couple of times before sliding the condom on and slicking himself up with lube.

He positioned himself between Eddie's legs. "You sure about this?"

Eddie nodded. "Please, baby." He begged.

Slowly, he let himself slide in. He groaned at how tight Eddie was. Eddie threw his head back and moaned filthily. "Oh, fuck yes, Richie!"

Richie began thrusting slowly, letting Eddie get used to the feeling, but soon sped up, eliciting loud moans and words of encouragement from his lover. Eddie pushed his hips forward to meet Richie's thrusts, and he knew he wasn't going to last long. He grabbed Eddie's calves and wrapped one around his waist, while the other was thrown over his shoulder. With their new position, Richie was hitting his prostate with every thrust, and Eddie was screaming in pleasure. Those sounds only pushed Richie closer to his climax.

"God, Eds, baby, I'm so fucking close, I'm gonna come."

"Me too, Rich. Gosh, please touch me."

He wrapped his fingers around Eddie and stroked him lazily. His thrusts got faster and he felt the familiar coil of heat in his lower belly. With a shout of Eddie's name, he spilled into the condom. That seemed to send Eddie over the edge, and seconds later, he was screaming his name and coming in Richie's hand.

Once they was both down from their high, Richie slid out and removed the condom. He tied it off and threw it in the general direction of the dustbin. He grabbed some tissues from his bedside table and wiped them both down, and threw those away as well. He lied down next to Eddie and pulled the covers over them.

Eddie turned to smile at him. "That was amazing. I don't think I've felt that good in ages."

Richie smiled bashfully. "Me neither."

Eddie snuggled into Richie and let his fingers play with his chest hair. "You were right."

"About?"

He looked up at him. "I needed this. I needed tonight." He leaned up to kiss him gently. "So thank you."

Richie wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him tightly. "Anything for you, Eddie Spaghetti. Anything for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think for my first attempt at smut this turned out pretty okay  
> idk what do you guys think?? was it too cringe????????


	10. You can't drag the slow burn out any longer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Eddie, I love you, but gosh, you're so fucking dense sometimes, oh my god."
> 
> "What?"
> 
> "He was talking about you, you moron!"
> 
> Eddie snorted. "Sounds unrealistic."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngl the rest of this story is pretty much angst lmao

Eddie woke up to sound of someone cursing loudly.

"Jesus fucking Christ on a crutch!"

Eddie groaned and buried his head further into a pillow.

"'Chee," he mumbled, "shhhhh!"

Richie stopped stumbling and looked over at the boy in bed. "Hey, Eds."

Eddie turned around to look at him and smiled fondly. Richie's pants were halfway up his legs, his shirt was unbuttoned, and his curls were a mess. He was gorgeous.

"Whatcha lookin' at, pumpkin?"

Eddie blushed. "You. You're gorgeous."

Richie grinned broadly. "Not as much as you."

Eddie huffed and buried his head back in the pillow. "Does everything have to be a competition with you?"

"If you're the prize, then sure." Richie pulled up his pants.

Eddie sat up, and the duvet fell down a little, barely covering him. He caught Richie staring. He smirked. "Didn't you get enough last night?"

Richie rolled his eyes. "There's no such thing as enough." He buttoned up his shirt. "How are you, bug?"

Eddie shrugged. "A little sore. But definitely worth it."

Richie laughed. "Well, I'm flattered. But as much as I'd like a rerun, I've got to get to work."

"Can't you wait for a bit?" asked Eddie, making grabby hands.

Richie looked like he was going to jump right back into bed, but shook his head. "I'm already late, sweetheart. I'll see you in the evening."

He stopped at the bedroom door and turned to look at Eddie one last time. "Hey, um, when I get back, we should talk. About this. About us."

Eddie ran his fingers through his hair and nodded. "Uh, yeah. Definitely."

"Uh, okay. Great. Um, bye."

He quickly ran out of the room. Two seconds later, he ran back in, gave Eddie a quick peck on the lips, and ran back out, leaving him a blushing mess under the covers.

Eddie was still processing the previous night. He couldn't believe that it was real, but the slight pain in his lower back confirmed that it, in fact, did happen. He'd actually slept with his crush. He thought that kind of shit only happened in movies.

Eddie wasn't the kind of guy who'd get the guy. Usually, he crushed on guys who were painfully straight, or on guys who didn't think of him as anything more than a casual fuck. He'd been in only one serious relationship, back in college, and that guy had been a complete douche who had a girlfriend of three years. Eddie was basically the 'other woman' in that case. He was a home wrecker, and he hated the feeling.

But Eddie did get the guy this time, at least that's what he thought. His mind went back to what Richie had told him at the bar, about the guy he'd been thinking about. Was he really that guy? It seemed too good to be true.

Even if Richie didn't think of him as anything more than a one night stand, he realised that he didn't really mind. He hadn't had sex that good since, well, ever. For all the jokes he made, Richie was a fucking sex god. If they were to do it again, he wouldn't be complaining.

And if they were to be something more, well, that's what Eddie really wanted. But deep down, he knew he couldn't let that happen. It was too dangerous. Gray had already threatened him, which meant he knew something about Eddie. Whether it was about him hacking Keene's desktop, or something more, he was in danger. And that meant Richie was in danger. And he couldn't lose him. And then of course, there was the issue of him being his crush's  _(lover? partner? boyfriend?)_ favourite superhero. That in itself put up way too many complications. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Eddie sighed. He had to make a decision. Follow his heart, or let his brain take the wheel. He fucking hated it.

A loud knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He groaned. He grabbed his boxers and pulled them on. He picked up Richie's t-shirt from the previous night and slid in on. It was huge on him, the sleeve slipping off one shoulder, and going down till the middle of his thighs. He pulled the collar up and inhaled. It smelled like him. He smiled.

The knocking was louder this time. Eddie dragged himself off the bed and went to answer it. "Alright, alright, I'm coming, don't break the door down."

He swung the door open to reveal an annoyed Beverly Marsh.

"Fucking finally. You couldn't take any longer even if you tried."

"You wanna test that out?" He stepped back to allow her into his apartment.

"Well, someone had a wild night," she said, poking the hickey on his neck. He hissed in pain. "Is there a naked stranger in your bed that I should be worried about?"

"Nah, he already left for work. Besides, we did it in his bed."

Bev smirked at him. "Well, that explains the t-shirt. I wondered when you started listening to Guns N' Roses."

Eddie walked into the kitchen. "Do you want coffee?"

Bev nodded. "Please, I didn't have any this morning."

"Great." He handed her a mug. "Make some for me as well. I have to brush and shower. I smell like sex."

Bev rolled her eyes. "I thought you'd wear it as a badge of honour."

"It's still gross!" He yelled from the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, the were both seated at the kitchen island, sipping on their coffee.

"So how was it?" Bev asked.

"God, it was amazing, Bev." Eddie sighed. "Best sex I've ever had. He was just so sweet and gentle, all he wanted was for me to be okay. He just wanted to make me feel good. No one's ever wanted that for me. It was nice."

"So are guys, like, a thing now?"

"I don't know? He said we should talk about it once he's back from work. He- he said he's into someone right now though, so I don't know."

Bev looked at him incredulously. "Eddie, I love you, but gosh, you're so fucking dense sometimes, oh my god."

"What?"

"He was talking about you, you moron!"

Eddie snorted. "Sounds unrealistic."

"Seriously Eddie, he really likes you, and you really like him. You can't drag the slow burn out any longer."

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

"Eddie," she said, taking his hand, "why are you doing this to yourself? You're allowed to be happy."

"Bev, it's... you know how it is."

"I know you're worried people finding out who you are and putting him in danger. I get it, I really do. But you can't live your entire life in fear. You can't let this opportunity slip past you."

"Bev, I can't get the boy and be Wonder Boy as well. It'll immediately put a target on his back. And I can't lose Richie, I can't."

"Why do you always assume the worst? You're Eddie Kaspbrak as well, you know, not just Wonder Boy. And Eddie Kaspbrak is allowed to be in a relationship with the man he likes."

"Is he? Because lately, it's not just Wonder Boy who's in danger, it's Eddie Kaspbrak. Richie Tozier doesn't deserve that. He doesn't deserve someone like me."

"So what are you going to tell him then? That you can't be with him because you're Wonder Boy and being with him puts his life at risk?"

Eddie frowns. "Well, when you put it that way..."

"Are you just going to lie to him?"

Eddie looked down at his fingers. "It's the only option."

"If you're going to break his heart, he deserves the truth."

"If I tell him I'm Wonder Boy, he'll hate me forever. And I don't think I can handle that any less than I can handle not being with him."

Bev sighed. "I know how much you want him, why are you pushing this away?" Eddie opened his mouth to argue, but Bev continued. "Yeah, yeah, you and your fucking conscience. Well, your conscience is fucking stupid. There I said it. You're fucking stupid. I can't change your mind, but I can very well tell you just exactly how fucking stupid you are."

Eddie scowled. "Fuck you. You don't know what it's like living a life like mine. If you did, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"You're right, I don't. I don't need to be in your position to know you're being an absolute dumbfuck."

Eddie shook his head. "Can we not fight about my love life? Why did you come here in the first place?"

"This conversation isn't over." She was mad, but she pulled her laptop out of her bag. "Well, while you were too busy getting laid last night, I went through the data we collected from Keene's computer. From what I've learned, it looks like Project Red Balloon is basically a drug that causes intense hallucinations, and stimulates the amygdala to respond accordingly. The main focus is to figure out what the response will be."

"Okay so let me get this straight: the drugs cause intense hallucinations, which are most likely linked to fear, so something that the patient is scared of, and then they study the reaction of the patient to said fear." Eddie rubbed his chin. "That's fucking dumb. How the hell would a drug like that ever sell? It's got to be something more."

"Hey," said Bev, raising her hands defensively, "I'm not the scientist. I could be wrong."

Eddie went through the files on Bev's laptop. Bev's interpretation had been right, but there was something else as well. "It's not just about studying the reaction, it's about one thing in particular. They're trying to use fear as a means of submission. Basically mind control. It's like a more specific Project MKUltra."

Bev raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that the CIA mind control program? I thought it was shut down in 1973."

Eddie nodded. "It was. I guess Gray decided to restart it. However, from the looks of it, this is just the tip of the iceberg. They're still struggling with the whole mind control thing. This is a part of something much, much bigger."

"But that's a good thing, right? If they're still in the beginning stages, we stop them before it gets worse."

Eddie nodded. "Yeah, hopefully."

Bev's phone started ringing. She answered it. "Hey, babe. What's up?"

Ben, on the other end, said something and Bev put it on speaker.

"Okay, Ben, you're on speaker."

_"Hey, Eddie."_

"Hey, Ben. What've you got for me?"

_"Well, I dug up dirt on Bob Gray, and_ _came_ _up with nothing. Like he's got a completely clean slate. Not even a parking ticket. However, I did find something interesting. In 2005, a bunch of kids and teens in Atlanta were killed."_

"Oh, yeah," said Bev, shivering, "I remember reading about those. The Pennywise killings. It was gruesome."

_"Yeah, anyway, they didn't find_ _who'd_ _done it, but eyewitness descriptions show that the killer looked a lot like Bob Gray. Anyway, the murders stopped in August 2005, two weeks before Gray moved to New York. But that's about it."_

"And anything on Neibolt?"

_"Yeah, a lot of stuff on Neibolt. Prior to 2006, they tested on animals. Then, a lot of people sued them for not giving enough information on the side effects of their drugs. In 2009, three employees mysteriously disappeared, and they still haven't been found. And finally, in 2011, the CEO of the company, Carla Bordeaux, died of a heart attack, even though she was perfectly healthy. Gray took over from her, and then everything mysteriously stopped. Ever since then they haven't broken a single law."_

Eddie sighed. "He probably has the government protecting him. There's nothing we can do."

"Hey," said Bev, "at least now we know what Project Red Balloon is. We know they're still weak, so we can take them down. We just need to formulate a plan."

_"I'll continue digging and see if I can find anything else. Take care, guys."_

"You too, Benny. Love you." She cut the call and looked up at Eddie. "I have to go, but we'll figure this out, I promise. I'm going to fill the others in as well."

She grabbed her bag and headed to front door. Just before she stepped out, she turned back to him. "You're still an idiot. I hope you change your mind before he comes home."

* * *

Eddie didn't change his mind. As much as it killed him, he knew what he had to do. He was doing this for Richie.

At around seven, the door slammed open and Richie sauntered in. He saw Eddie sitting on the couch and slumped down next to him.

"Hiya Eds."

"Don't call me that."

"Ah, you love it."

"No, I don't, actually."

Richie leaned forward and pressed his lips to his. Eddie let him, it would probably be the last time they kissed.

"Rich," he whispered, pushing him away. "We're supposed to talk about us."

Richie leaned back. Once he saw Eddie's expression, the smile slowly disappeared from his face.

"Why do I have a feeling we both want different things?"

"I'm sorry, Richie," Eddie whispered quietly. "We can't be together."

Richie swallowed. "I really like you, Eddie."

"I like you too, Rich. A lot."

"Then why the fuck can't we be together?!" Richie yelled. His eyes were glossy with tears.

"We just can't." A tear rolled down his cheek. "Not right now."

"This is because of him, isn't it?"

Eddie sniffed and wiped his cheek. "Who?"

"Your boyfriend."

"Richie, you know I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well, then, secret lover! I don't fucking know!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, stop lying to me, Eddie!" Richie stood up, and took a deep breath. He was angry. "Don't think I haven't heard you sneak in and out of the house in the middle of night through your window. I know all about him!"

"Richie, there is no secret lover! That's not it!"

Richie shook his head. "No, I don't want to hear it." He grabbed the doorknob, but turned to Eddie before opening it. "You know, I really thought we had something special. Guess I was just another fuck for you, 'cause you got bored with sleeping with the same guy every night. Well, guess what? Fuck you! Fuck you making me fall in love with you, and fuck you for just using me and tossing me aside! Fuck you!"

Tears were pouring down both their faces. Richie yanked the door the open.

"Richie, wait!" Eddie called after him. "Where are you going?"

"Far away from you, I hope." He slammed the door shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering, Project MKUltra was basically a mind control program conducted by the CIA between 1953 and 1973. They studied and designed drugs that would weaken people and force confessions out of them through mind control. Most of their activities were illegal, including testing on humans.


	11. Dumb spandex-wearing vigilante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more he thought about it, he realised he loved Richie. He probably had for a while, but only acknowledged it now, when it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and on this week's episode of the author feels like total shit about herself and her writing and puts out a disappointing filler 
> 
> This sucks. Enjoy.

As soon as he slammed the door shut, Richie broke out into a run. He didn't know how long he kept running, or where he was going, he just let his feet carry him. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he slowed down and sat down on the curb. He ran his fingers through his curls. His cheeks were stained with tears, and his eyes were stinging behind his lenses. His heart had shattered into a million pieces, and he couldn't be bothered to gather them.

_Fuck Eddie Kaspbrak. Fuck him and his stupid hair and his weird brown eyes and his dumb face and everything else about him. Fuck him._

Richie didn't know how he could've been so naive. Of course Eddie wasn't going to dump his boyfriend for him. He didn't even think of Richie like that. All those compliments and confessions were just in the heat of the moment. Eddie never had feelings for him. He was nothing more than a one-night stand.

Richie hated him. He hated his idiotic face. He hated his dumb ass. He hated his stupid smile. But more importantly, he hated how he made him feel. He hated how Eddie was the only person who mattered to him. He hated how he would give up the world for Eddie. He hated himself for falling for him.

Richie laughed sadly and looked up at the sky. Things were so much easier when he was in love with a dumb spandex-wearing vigilante. Being in love with someone you know you can't have was definitely more convenient than being in love with your best friend, especially after you know how good said best friend sounds in bed. What he wouldn't give to be with Wonder Boy right now.

"Wonder Boy," Richie said out loud, "if you can somehow hear me, I have some advice for you. Don't fall in love. Ever. It's fucking stupid."

"You alright there, pal?"

Richie whipped his head around to see a dark figure leaning against a wall. Richie couldn't make out his face. "I mean," the figure continued, "you're literally talking to air."

Richie snorted. "I'm heartbroken. I get a free pass."

The figure stepped out from the shadows. Under the street lamp, Richie could see that he was tall, taller than him. He had long dark hair that was tied into a ponytail, and a slim hooked nose. His eyes were a blend of blue and green. He was extremely skinny, looking more like a skeleton than actual person. He was attractive enough, and looked like the kind of guy whose picture would be used as a young Sirius Black for an edit on Tumblr.

The dude sat down next to him. "Rough night with the Mrs.?"

"Yeah, you could put it like that."

"You know," the guy leaned back on his elbows, "I'm good at making people forget, if you're interested."

Richie turned to the guy. He had no idea what he was offering. "What do you have in mind?"

The stranger sat up and whispered in his ear, "Depends. What are you looking for?" He licked his ear, and Richie shifted away uncomfortably. This dude was creepy.

"I think alcohol will do the trick, thanks." He got up, but the stranger grabbed his wrist.

"There's no fun in drinking alone. Let me join you."

"That won't be necessary." Richie tried to shake him off, but his grip was too tight. "Let me go, you son of a bitch!"

The man's grip only tightened, and he pulled Richie towards him. "Oh, Richie, I was really hoping we didn't have to do this the hard way."

Richie's eyes went wide. "Wha- how do you know my name?"

He felt something prick the side of his neck. He looked down to see a syringe in the stranger's hand. He felt dizzy and his vision started to get foggy. He felt his legs give way, and he collapsed in the arms of the stranger.

"Wha- what did... you.... "

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes started to droop, and the last thing he saw was the stranger grinning manically.

* * *

It had been twenty-seven hours since Richie had stormed out of the apartment, and Eddie was starting to get worried. In those twenty-seven hours, Richie hadn't come back once. He'd tried calling him, but it went straight to voicemail. He decided to call Bill next, to see if he'd turned up at work.

The phone rang for a couple of seconds before Bill picked up.

_"H-hey Eddie. Did you find anything?"_

"Uh, no Bill. I'm actually calling about Richie. Did he come in to work today?"

_"Uh, no, I-I thought he was sick or something. Carr's pretty p-pissed he didn't bother c-calling."_

Eddie frowned. "Oh, okay."

_"Is everything alright?"_

Eddie decided it was best to not burden Bill with his problems. "Uh, he just didn't come home last night. It's fine, he's probably at Stan's place."

_"O-okay, Eddie. Let me know if you find him."_

"I will. Thanks Bill."

Eddie cut the call and sighed. He'd have to be with Stan.

As usual, Stan picked up after the first ring.

_"Hello, Eddie."_

"Stan. Is Richie with you?"

_"I haven't seen him since we went looking for Georgie. What's wrong?"_

"Bill said he wasn't at work today either."

_"Eddie, what's going on?"_

He sighed. He couldn't lie to Stan. "I- I fucked up, Stan."

_"What did you do?"_

"We, uh, we had a pretty huge fight."

_"About what?"_

"We fucked. And then I told him I didn't want a relationship."

He heard Stan take in a deep breath.  _"You dumbass. You broke his heart."_

"You think I don't know that? God, I messed up."

_"Why'd you say no? I know you like him as well."_

Eddie sighed. "Honestly? I- it seems irrelevant. I just, I'm not in the position to be in a relationship right now."

_"What the hell do you mean by that? If this is about the whole thing with Neibolt, you've got to realise that he's just as involved as you are. All of us are."_

"It's not that, Stan. It's something much different."

_"Then? Is this about your secret lover or whatever?"_

Eddie pinched his nose. "Okay, what secret lover? Even Richie was going on about him. I do not have a secret lover!"

_"I don't know. You keep sneaking out. It's kind of fishy."_

"Look, there is no secret lover, okay?"

_"Eddie, I don't really care what you do in your free time, that's none of my business. But Richie really cares about you, and you hurt him. You need to figure your shit out."_

"God, Stanley, I know! That's why I want to make it up to him, but I have no fucking idea where he is!"

_"Richie needs his space. Give him time, he'll come around. Right now, he's probably looking for Wonder Boy or something. He's the only one who'll be able to take his mind off you."_

Why didn't Eddie think of that? Obviously Richie would be looking for Wonder Boy, but Wonder Boy was too busy crying in his apartment for being a fucking douchebag. He should be out there, looking for him as Wonder Boy, instead of Eddie Kaspbrak. That was the first thing he should've done.

"Yeah, you're probably right. If anyone can find him, it's Wonder Boy."

Stan chuckled.  _"Well, you ought to let him know. But really Eddie, don't worry about Rich. He cares about you too much to just let go."_

"I care about him too, Stanley. So much. I just wish I'd let him know earlier."

_"He knows, Eddie. He knows. He just hurting."_

"I know, and it's all my fault. Gosh, I'm the worst."

_"Yeah, you are. And I'm definitely mad at you for hurting my best friend. You'd better make it up to him."_

"I will, Stan. I promise I will. Thank you."

_"Just don't ever hurt him again. Please."_

"I don't intend on doing that. Ever."

With that, he cut the call. He quickly put his suit on. He didn't bother telling Bev he was going out to look for Richie, he didn't need her to call him out as well. He was well aware that he'd royally fucked up.

He jumped from building to building, looking for him in every nook and corner in a ten mile radius. He went all of Richie's favourite bars, clubs, stores. He even went to Jackson Avenue, but nothing came up. He used his super senses, but picked up nothing.

Frustrated, he sat on the ledge of a building and buried his face in his hands and sobbed. His mask stuck to his face, but he didn't care. This was all because of him. Richie had left, or worse, and it was his fault. He had no one to blame but himself.

_I'm the world's biggest idiot. Why couldn't I have just told him the truth? Why am I such a fucking coward? Now he thinks he isn't enough for me. I hurt him. I broke his heart. I don't deserve him. I am not worthy of his love. And he most certainly does not deserve mine._

It wasn't some huge revelation, really. The more he thought about it, he realised he loved Richie. He probably had for a while, but only acknowledged it now, when it was too late.

"Why so glum, chum?"

Eddie jumped up and spun around to see a man in a trench coat standing on the roof, a few feet away from him. The dude looked like a jackass from the eighties, with his mullet and tight jeans.

"What do you want?"

"Hey," the man put his hands up defensively. "I'm not here to fight you."

"Who are you?"

"Mr. Gray sent me."

Eddie clenched his fists. "What does that son of a bitch want?"

"I have a message for you."

"Yeah? Well, I have a message for you too. Tell Mr. Gray to stay the fuck away from Eddie Kaspbrak and his friends."

The man chuckled. "It's a little too late for that."

"What do you mean?"

"You've probably heard of Richie Tozier, your superfan?"

Eddie felt his stomach drop through his crotch. "If you've done anything to Richie I swear to god..."

"He's alive. For now."

Eddie grabbed the man by his collar and pushed him against a wall. "Don't you dare lay a finger on him, you hear me?"

The man calmly shoved Eddie away from him, which only caused him to push him further into the wall. "If you don't obey Mr. Gray's orders, there will be consequences."

Eddie considered fighting, but he wasn't going to risk Richie's life. "What does he want?"

"Stay out of Project Red Balloon, and away from Neibolt, and maybe you'll see your precious Trashmouth again."

Eddie gulped and nodded. "Fine. But if anything happens to Richie, tell your boss he's going down."

Eddie punched the man for good measure, and jumped off the building. He knew what he had to do. He was going to keep his word and stay away from Neibolt, but only after he made sure Richie was safe. He didn't care if those weren't the terms of the deal, but there's no way in hell he was going to let anything happen to his Richie.

Eddie was angry now. Someone was definitely going to get hurt, and he'd make damn sure it wasn't Richie.


	12. Beginning of a really bad porno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know, if you'd just ask nicely, I would stay. There's no reason to keep me bound."
> 
> "Would you?"
> 
> "... No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Homophobia, violence, blood

When Richie came to, the first thing he noticed was the intense heat against his cheek. The second thing he noticed was the flame right in front of his face.

"What the fuck!" He stumbled backward in his chair. He tugged his wrists, only to see that they were taped to the arms of the chair. His ankles were taped to the legs of the chair as well. He squirmed in his seat, the intense heat from the blow torch becoming unbearable.

"Ah, looks like lover boy's awake!"

Richie looked up to see the stranger who drugged him move the flame away.

"Morning princess. You were out for quite a while. I thought I'd killed you."

Richie glared at him. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

The other man clicked his tongue. "So many questions. Ever thought I just want to have fun with you?"

"By taping me to a chair?"

"It's more fun when you can't run away." The man took out a can of hairspray from his back pocket, and held it under the blow torch. He clicked both nozzles at the same time, turning it into a makeshift flame thrower. Richie titled his chair as far behind as possible, barely avoiding the fire.

"Fucking pyro."

"Patrick, leave him alone."

The stranger scowled and put his things away. A tall, thin man in a three piece suit with wrinkled skin and a partially bald head stepped out of the shadows. Richie recognised him instantly.

"You."

"Hello, Mr. Tozier." Bob Gray gave him one of his signature evil smiles.

"What am I doing here? What do you want from me? I'm not going to lie, this seems like the beginning of a really bad porno. And let me tell you, I'm flattered, but uninterested."

"Mr. Tozier, please, calm down. I am not here to hurt you."

Richie snorted. "Then why am I taped to a chair?"

"I need to make sure you don't try and escape."

"You know, if you'd just ask nicely, I would stay. There's no reason to keep me bound."

"Would you?"

"... No."

Gray hummed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"You never answered my question."

Gray grabbed a chair and set in front of Richie. He sat down and crossed his legs. "Tell me about yourself, Richie."

Richie was taken aback. "Well, whaddya wanna know, Doc? I'm an open book!"

"I heard you're quite the Wonder Boy enthusiast."

It finally dawned on him. "So that's why I'm here. You want me to find him. Well, I can't help you. I don't know who he is. And even if I did, I wouldn't help you."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I already know who he is."

Richie raised his eyebrows. "You know Wonder Boy's secret identity? How?"

Gray picked at his fingernails. "I have my ways. But that's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Then what do you want from me?"

"Tell me about your relationship with Mr. Kaspbrak."

Richie clenched his fists. His heart still hurt from what Eddie did. "If you've kidnapped me to get to Eddie, you're wasting your time. I'm not the one he cares about."

"You couldn't be further from the truth, Mr. Tozier."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Before he could respond, a man with a mullet ran into the room. He held his nose, which seemed to be broken. "He took the bait."

"He gave you a makeover as well," Patrick grinned. "You're much prettier now, Bowers."

"Shut the fuck up, Hocksetter," the man grumbled.

Gray sighed. "Let's get you cleaned up, Henry." He took the stranger through a door on the right of the room.

Richie took his time to observe his surroundings. From the looks of it, he seemed to be in a basement of some sort. There were no windows, and his only routes of escape were through the door through which Gray and Bowers went, and another door somewhere in the shadows. if he could just get out of the chair, he could make a run for for it. A part of him was counting on Wonder Boy to get him out, but the more rational part of him knew he had to figure a way out on his own, just to be on the safe side.

He twisted his wrists around, but the tape was too tight. He couldn't slide his arm out from his jacket. He tried shifting his leg as well, but to no avail.

"You won't be able to get out," said Patrick. "I made sure of that." He crouched down in front of him and grabbed his chin. "I wonder what makes you so special."

Richie resisted the urge to spit on his face. "What do you mean?"

"How did Mr. Gray know you'd be his Kryptonite?"

"Whose Kryptonite?"

Patrick's words were cut short by the ceiling collapsing. On the rubble stood a short figure in blue and gold.

Richie grinned. "I knew you'd come for me."

* * *

 

As soon as Eddie saw Richie alive, he let out a sigh of relief. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around him. But he had bigger problems. One, Richie was taped to a chair, and two, a Kylo Ren look-alike was holding a blowtorch to Richie's curls.

"Well, well, well," said the other man, "looks like Wonder Boy actually showed up to save his little bitch."

Eddie wasn't in the mood to deal with his bullshit. He tackled him and threw him to the corner of the room. He turned to Richie. "How are you?"

Richie grinned. "Better, now that you're here. My ass is a little sore though. You think you can massage it?"

Eddie's face flared. "How can you make jokes when you've literally been kidnapped?" he asked, removing the tape from around his wrists.

"I'm just really happy to see you, that's all." He bent down to free his ankles.

Once Richie stood up, Eddie wrapped him in a hug. Richie was startled, but he hugged back with the same force.

"I'm so glad you're alive," Eddie whispered into his neck.

Richie kissed his head. "Me too, Wonder Boy."

Eddie leaned back and stroked his cheek. All he wanted to do was kiss him silly, but he remembered that Gray could come back at any time.

Eddie grabbed Richie's hand and dragged him to the door. "We need to get out of here quickly."

Richie nodded. He laced their fingers together. "Is this okay?"

Eddie smiled softly, and then realised that Richie couldn't see his expression, so he nodded.

They ran out of the basement and up the stairs.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"One of his guys told me."

"And you actually came for me?"

Eddie nodded. "Of course. I wasn't just going to leave you to die."

"I-I just thought you wouldn't care."

Eddie turned to him. "Hey, you may be annoying, but you're not that annoying. I actually really like you."

Richie's whole face lit up like a Christmas Tree. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"So does that mean you'll go on that date with me?"

Eddie blushed furiously. "If we make it out of here alive, then sure."

Richie fist pumped. "Even though I got kidnapped, this is the best day ever!"

Eddie smiled. He was so relieved to see Richie this happy, even though he knew he hated him.

They reached the lobby of the main building. It was suspiciously empty. Eddie was sure they were going to run into trouble.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt a sharp pain in his back. "Ahh!" He pulled a needle out of his back.

"Wonder Boy!" Richie grabbed his waist as he fell to the ground. "What's wrong?"

"I- I feel... weak. Powerless."

"Supressants." Eddie turned to see Gray and the mullet-wearing stranger from earlier. "You're quite familiar with them, aren't you? Your mother did feed them to you as a child."

Eddie clenched his fists. How did he know that?

"How are you, Wonder Boy? Or should I say Eddie?"

Eddie felt his heart stop. Richie's grip on his waist loosened, and he looked up to see an expression of shock on his face.

"E-Eds?"

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. The look morphed into one of utter betrayal.

"I-I..."

"Richie, I'm so sorry, I didn't want you to find out like this."

"Did you want me to find out at all?"

"It's funny, isn't it?" Gray interrupted them. "The two men you love are actually the same person. What a small world."

Eddie gulped. He turned back to Richie, who looked wrecked, like a kid who'd just been told Santa wasn't real. "Look, Rich, I know I owe you an explanation for everything, but right now, you need to get out of here."

Richie looked at him, almost considering staying and protecting him, but then nodded. He didn't say anything, he just ran towards the exit.

"Call 911!" Eddie yelled after him.

The mullet-wearing asshole made a move to go after him, but Gray stopped him. "Let him go."

He walked towards Eddie and crouched down. "I told you, Mr. Kaspbrak, don't mess with things you don't understand."

"Fuck you," he spat.

Gray shook his head. He turned to his henchman, who was joined by three others. "He's all yours, boys. I have to prepare for my departure."

Gray headed to the elevator, while the mullet, Kylo Ren, low-budget Draco Malfoy, and the bully from Phineas and Ferb slunk over to him.

Patrick got his blowtorch ready. "I'm going to have so much fun burning that spandex."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "My suit isn't flammable, dumbass." He may not have had his powers, but he still had his suit, and Bev had added some pretty neat weapons to it.

Victor and Belch came to him first. Eddie jumped out their grip. He ducked the punches they were throwing, and kicked Victor in the stomach, and hit Belch in the face. Both stumbled back, and Patrick came forward with his blowtorch and hairspray.

"Oh, you're going down, Wonder Boy."

He pressed the nozzles, and Eddie gracefully dodged the flames. He pressed a button on his chest, and a laser beam shot out, blowing the pyromaniac out of the building and leaving a huge hole in the wall.

The other two lunged for him again. This time, Belch managed to hit him in the face, but Eddie kicked him in the groin. He elbowed Vic in the abdomen. The two stumbled around but soon regained their footing. They were both together in one place, and that's when Eddie decided to act. He pointed his laser at the ground and drew a circle around them. The ground gave way and they both fell through to the basement.

Eddie turned to the last dude, who till now had been leaning against a wall and observing the whole fight. He pushed himself off and sauntered towards Eddie. "My gang's a little dumb. They treat superheroes like normal people. You'll have to forgive them."

Eddie set his stance. "You don't want to fight me."

Bowers pulled a switchblade from his pocket and flipped it open. "Oh, but I do. It's payback for what you did to my face."

Eddie shrugged. "You should thank me, it's a good look."

Bowers scowled. "You're mouthy, aren't you? Little fag."

Eddie was caught off guard as every memory of high school bullies came flooding back at once, with the use of the slur. The man noticed this and lunged for him. He tackled him to the ground.

Eddie reacted quickly. He punched his assailant in the face, though no way near as hard as the last time. He kneed his groin and kicked his shin. The man screamed in pain and rolled off him.

Eddie quickly stood up and turned to run, but Bowers grabbed his ankle and pulled him down. He punched Eddie in the face, and he could feel his nose bleed. He grabbed Eddie's head and slammed it into the ground. Eddie groaned. He could already feel the bump forming.

Bowers pinned him down and pushed his arms down with his knees. He pulled out his switchblade and shoved it into Eddie's arm. He winced at the pain as blood came pouring out. The man rolled his mask and pressed his knife against the skin on his neck.

Eddie hated not having his powers. He wasn't strong enough to shove the man off. He was weak, delicate. Everything his mother called him, everything bullies taunted him about, all of it came flooding back. He felt his eyes fill up with tears.

_This is it. This is how I die. The great Wonder Boy, killed by a guy straight out of an eighties movie, with a fucking switchblade._

"Any last words, Wonder Boy?" He pressed the knife in harder, and Eddie felt the blood trickling down his neck.

He squeezed eyes shut.  _I love you too, Richie Tozier._

That was his last thought, as he anticipated the swipe of the blade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just one more chapter to goooo


	13. Come back to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I must say, I'm pretty impressed at how quickly you managed to figure out my plan."
> 
> Eddie shrugged. "It's a shit plan, just so you know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, blood, death, NSFW content, cheesy dialogue  
> This is it folks, it's been a wild ride!

The swipe of the blade never came. Instead, he heard the sound of a skull cracking, and the man fell on top off him. He shoved him off, only to see Richie standing above them with a baseball bat.

"Holy shit."

Eddie crawled back, away from the body.

"Is he- is he dead?" Richie asked quietly.

Eddie pressed his fingers against his neck. No pulse. "Yeah, he's dead."

"Holy shit." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I just killed a man."

"Hey," said Eddie, standing up, "nothing's going to happen to you. You were just protecting me."

"Yeah, okay."

Eddie wanted to touch him, but he wasn't sure if he'd appreciate it. "Thank you," he said instead, "you saved my life."

Richie shrugged. "Just returning the favour."

Eddie looked down. Richie was just being a good person. He would have done it for anyone.

"Your arm, it's bleeding."

Eddie looked down at it, only now remembering that he'd been stabbed. "It's fine."

Richie shook his head. "You of all people should know about the germs that can infect open wounds. Here." He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it around the wound. "That should keep it covered for now."

Eddie wrinkled his nose. "Gosh, I really hope that's unused."

"Nah, I used it to wipe my jizz after jerking off to pictures of your mom."

"Beep, beep, Richie."

It was crazy how quickly they'd fallen back into their banter. Eddie missed it. Richie was quiet again, and Eddie didn't  like it one bit.

"Where'd you get the bat?"

"It was in a storage closet."

"Oh."

They fell into an awkward silence. Richie was the one to break it after a few seconds. "I called the cops. They're on the way."

"Okay, good. Hopefully they can find the missing kids."

Richie didn't say anything. He stayed quiet for a few beats before speaking again. "You need to explain yourself."

Eddie sighed. "Richie, I'm-"

"Not right now," he cut him off. "Right now you need to stop Robert McClownFace. But later, definitely. And no lies."

Eddie nodded firmly. He'd almost forgotten about Gray. "For sure. I uh, I should go now, before he gets away."

He turned to head towards the elevator.

"Wait!" Richie grabbed his arm and spun him around. Carefully, he rolled Eddie's mask up till his lips and the tip of his nose were exposed. He cupped his cheeks, and brought his face down, slotting their lips together.

Unlike the kisses they'd shared a couple of nights ago, this one was soft, slow, and gentle. Their mouths moved together in perfect unison, their actions conveying what they couldn't say.

_It's okay, Eds, I forgive you._

_I love you, Richie, I hope you know that._

Richie swiped the pad of his thumb over Eddie's lower lip, coaxing his mouth open. Their tongues rolled together. Richie tasted like cigarettes and mint, and Eddie realised it was his favourite flavour. He could spend the rest of his life tasting Richie.

Richie moved his mouth away and rested his forehead against Eddie's.

"Come back to me, Eddie," he whispered against his lips, "please."

"I promise."

Eddie gave him one quick peck before moving away for good. He walked backwards towards the elevator, pulling his mask down. "Besides, I've got a pretty hot date."

Richie grinned. "Tomorrow, 7 p.m. I'll pick you up from your bedroom. Be ready on time."

Eddie laughed. "That applies to you as well." He gave him a small wave as the elevator doors began to close. Just before they shut, he caught a glimpse of Richie's expression as it turned from content to worry.

He hit the button for the floor where Gray's office was. He felt his powers coming back, but he knew he still wasn't strong enough. He had to do this the old fashioned way.

The elevator doors opened, and Eddie stepped out cautiously. Gray may have been an old man, but he couldn't risk it. He had shot him with suppressants. Who knew what else he had up his sleeve?

He turned around the corner to see Gray standing in office at his desk, his back facing Eddie.

_Okay, he hasn't seen me yet. I can sneak up on him and choke him, knocking him out._

Eddie snuck into the room quietly. He tip toed to the desk.

"Ah, Mr. Kaspbrak, I was wondering when you were going to show up."

Eddie stopped in his tracks. Gray calmly put his files into his briefcase and continued. "While they seem tough, the Bowers Gang is pretty inefficient. Henry is the only one I can trust to do my dirty work, and sometimes, he's slacking as well. I'm surprised they kept you busy for so long." He turned around and his thin lips curled into a smile. "Or was that Mr. Tozier's doing?"

Eddie had so many questions. Instead, he settled on punching Gray in the face, who grabbed his fist. "Now, Eddie, why be violent when we can talk it out?"

"How the fuck do you know who I am?"

He sighed. "While you may be a brilliant scientist, you're not the most observant person. I slipped a bug into your pocket when we hugged, and I heard quite a lot of interesting things."

Fuck. How had Eddie not realised that? He was so preoccupied with everything, he hadn't bothered checking himself. How could he have been so careless?

"My henchmen had quite the time listening in on your night with Mr. Tozier, but I found your conversation with Miss Marsh a lot more interesting. I must say, I'm pretty impressed at how quickly you managed to figure out my plan."

Eddie shrugged. "It's a shit plan, just so you know."

Gray chuckled. "Of course you think that. I don't expect you to understand."

"I'm not going to let you get away with this."

"Oh, Eddie. Your father would've been so proud of you. You're just like him, always putting others before yourself, wanting what's best for the world, making sure the villains don't win. Always so selfless and just. It's stale, really."

"Leave my father out of this!"

"Oh, but Eddie, your father is the reason for all of this!"

Eddie clenched his fists. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"If he hadn't taken that serum without my knowledge, we wouldn't be here. We were working on it together, you know. As his partner, I deserved to know. I should've been the one to take that serum, I should've been the one with all the power! Your father didn't deserve any of it!"

Something inside of Eddie clicked. He shoved Gray against his desk. "I will not let you slander the good name of my father just 'cause you're jealous! Fuck you! You're vile and disgusting and you deserve to die!"

He felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a syringe sticking out of his abdomen. He felt weaker than before.

"I'm really sorry it had to come to this."

Eddie clutched his stomach and sank to the ground. Gray loomed over him with another syringe in his hand.

"You know, you were wrong about one thing," he said, kneeling in front of him, "I did actually figure out the mind control aspect of my project. I took a page out of your father's book and decided not share all the details with Keene. And now, you get to be my first subject."

He brought the injection to Eddie's neck. No. He wasn't going to let Gray do this. He wasn't going to let Gray win.

_Come back to me._

Richie's words rang in his ears. He wasn't going to give up. He couldn't do that. Not to him.

"So, Wonder Boy, are you ready to be afraid?"

Eddie grabbed Gray's wrist just as it reached his neck, and stabbed the needle into Gray instead. "Who's afraid now, bitch?"

Gray's eyes grew wide in fear. "No!"He covered his face and crawled under his desk. He was trembling. Eddie had no idea what he was seeing, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

He pushed himself off the ground. He turned around to give Gray one last glare, before heading to the elevator. He had a date to catch.

* * *

**_Six months later_ **

Richie slammed his boyfriend against the wall and smashed their lips together. Their kisses were wet, messy, and heated, but Richie couldn't care less. Their teeth clashed as their tongues slid together. Richie bit his boyfriend's lip and revelled in the moan he let out.

"Jesus, Eds, you're going to be the death of me."

Eddie grinned against his lips. "Guess I should stop then." He pulled back and smirked.

"Don't even think about it." He squeezed Eddie's ass which made him gasp.

"Have I told you how much I love your ass? It's so soft and pert and... wow."

Eddie laughed. "Only every time we've had sex."

Richie hummed against his neck. "Well, I'm still going to tell you every time, just so you know." He bit down on the skin and Eddie whimpered.

"Rich... please."

"What do you want, baby boy?"

Eddie pulled his shirt off and dropped down to his knees. He played with the zipper of Richie's pants and looked up at him through his lashes.

"May I?"

"Holy fuck, shit, yes, you don't need to ask."

He smirked and undid the zipper, pulling his pants and briefs down in one swift motion. Richie long, leaking cock popped out, almost hitting him in the face.

He nipped at the insides of Richie's thighs, moving closer and closer to where he needed him. He gave one long lick up Richie's ballsack, and he shuddered. He gave tentative kitten licks to his head, still not giving Richie what he wanted.

"Eds, baby, don't be a tease," Richie whined.

Eddie rolled his eyes and swirled his tongue around his head. Richie let out a low moan as he moved down, enveloping his cock with his warmth. He went down all the way, till he felt the tip hit the back of his throat. He picked up a steady pace, bobbing his head up and down, and jerking him off with his hand what his mouth couldn't cover.

Richie let out low breathy moans as Eddie picked up speed. He thrust his hips forward, hitting the back of his throat.

Eddie pulled off him and looked up with his cheeks flush and eyes blown wide with lust. "Fuck my mouth, Richie, I know you want to."

Richie groaned. Listening to such filthy things come out of Eddie's mouth almost sent him over the edge. He grabbed the back of his head and thrust forward into his mouth. He moved his hips quickly, fucking into Eddie's mouth. He felt his movements become sporadic and his legs tremble. He felt the heat pool in his abdomen.

"Eds, baby, I'm gonna come."

"Yeah? Come for me, baby. Come for me."

He thrust a couple more times, and Richie was spilling down Eddie's throat. Eddie let him ride out his high, swallowing around him, before pulling his mouth off. Richie pulled him up and pushed him onto the bed. He went for Eddie's mouth, but he pushed him away, so he settled for his neck. He marked him with numerous hickies, that trailed from his neck down to the waistband of his shorts. He hooked his fingers under the hem, and looked up at Eddie.

"Can I make you feel good too, sugar plum?"

Eddie wrinkled his nose at the nickname but nodded and Richie pulled his shorts down. Eddie was so turned on that precum was already dripping down his dick. "You're so perfect, baby boy."

He wrapped his fingers around him and began stroking. Eddie was already so close, and a few strokes later, he was moaning so loudly, porn stars would blush.

"Rich, baby, I'm so close!"

Richie kissed his stomach and quickened his pace. He brushed his thumb over his slit. A few strokes later, Eddie was screaming his name in pleasure, and ropes of cum shot out onto his stomach and all over Richie's hands. Richie stroked him a couple more times, before he felt Eddie calm down. He went to the bathroom and got a washcloth, wiping them both down. He crawled into bed next to Eddie and placed a soft kissed against his lips.

Eddie grimaced. "I just had my mouth on your dick."

"Baby, I really don't care." He kissed him deeply again, and this time Eddie didn't protest. He kissed back just as deeply. Richie pulled back and stroked his hair.

Richie admired the man next to him. He had no idea how he got this lucky.

After the whole situation at Neibolt, Eddie and Richie sat down and had a long talk. Eddie told him everything. He told him the truth about his father, the real reason he moved out from him mom's house, and how with Ben and Bev's help he became a superhero. He apologised for the way he treated Richie and for keeping everything from him, and Richie forgave him. They went on that date, and a couple of days after that Richie asked him to be his boyfriend.  They'd been going six months strong.

In those six months, a lot had changed for the others as well. Stan and Patty had got married, and Richie was his best man, and the wedding had been a blast. Bev and Ben were expecting their first child. Mike and Eddie quit their jobs at Neibolt, and joined a company called Maturin Corporations. Bill had been promoted from city crime to politics, something he wasn't too happy about, but didn't complain. He'd moved in with his girlfriend, Audra, and he'd been taking care of Georgie in his free time. Speaking of Georgie, he and the other missing kids were still shaken up about the whole thing, but the government had offered to look over all medical expenses, including therapy. They were getting better, but getting over something that traumatising wasn't something that happened over night, and it would take time. Gray had been arrested and admitted to a mental institution, on grounds of insanity, after Eddie injected him with the serum. Everyone else involved with Project Red Balloon had been arrested. It was safe to say that everything had worked out in their favour.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Eddie asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Richie sighed. "We just got so lucky, didn't we?"

Eddie smiled and pressed his lips against his. "I'm so glad, really."

Eddie's phone pinged, ruining the moment. He groaned and flipped over to look at it.

"Uh, oh. I gotta go."

Richie pouted. "For real?"

Eddie nodded, pushing himself off the bed. "Duty calls."

Richie checked him out as he quickly pulled on his suit. Before pulling his mask on, he gave Richie one long, slow kiss.

"I love you, 'Chee."

Richie's heart flipped just like it did every time Eddie said those words. "I love you too, Spaghetti Head."

Eddie stuck his tongue out and pulled his mask down. Richie smacked his butt and he yelped.

Eddie blew him one last kiss before jumping out the window.

Richie got up and leaned against the windowpane, watching his boyfriend go out into the night, fighting bad guys and keeping the city safe. He sighed. "Go get 'em, Wonder Boy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand it's done! Thank you to everyone who's read, kudos'd, bookmarked, commented, recommended and appreciated this fic. It means so much to me, you have no idea. It was my first time writing a multi chapter fanfic, and I was so worried about it. I most certainly did not expect it to be so well received. I had such a great time writing it, and I'm so glad I got the chance to share it with you guys. 
> 
> I have a few one-shots that I'm working on, and I will be posting those soon, so if you like my writing, keep an eye out for those. I have a couple of ideas for multi chapter fics, but that's all they are at the moment, I'll get working on them as soon as I'm feeling inspired. I'm a little worried about my other works, since Kryptonite set the bar pretty high, but I'll try my best.
> 
> Once again, thank you so much! I love you all <3

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments!
> 
> Come yell at me on tumblr: hoeziertozier.tumblr.com


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